


Whispers and warriors

by WinteryFall



Category: Bleach
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Flashbacks, Hollow Ichigo - Freeform, Kings & Queens, Lore-building, M/M, Multi, Past Character Death, Past tragedy, Possession, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Secrets, Shinigami/Zanpakutou Bond, Shirosaki is kinda childish, Slow Burn, and cute, and pervy, feels in general, light humor, past bromance, past cover-up, uncovering forgotten history, uncovering truths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-03-03 21:25:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 38
Words: 252,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13349814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinteryFall/pseuds/WinteryFall
Summary: (ON HIATUS - I'll get back to this someday, but right now my attention is elsewhere)In a world ravaged by Demonic creatures from another dimension, beings the inhabitants began to refer to as "the Hollows," humans banded together to create the Shinigami Order, a group spiritually powerful folk who fight against these creatures to keep everyone safe from them.Kurosaki Ichigo is a rookie Shinigami who encounters a strange blade, that initially seems void of a spirit. However, as time passes, he quickly learns nothing is what it seems - including their history books, and he starts questioning just who exactly are the monsters here.Also, having a literal King as your spirit-companion can truly be a troublesome matter. Having one as a lover is a whole new level of "oh shit what did I get myself into."Especially if the king is Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez





	1. The Blade

**Author's Note:**

> So, since I was having a writers block with my Flickering Flame fic, I decided to do what I often did in this situation; keep a break from it and write something else. This story idea popped in my head a while back, and now I finally mapped it out properly in my head.  
> This story sort of takes the canon, but with a twist. It doesn't really divert from canon in the usual way, as instead of just taking a plot in the manga and changing it, it alternates the basic rules of the world.  
> Namely, Shinigamis and Hollows aren't spirits, but the former are spiritually strong humans, and latter are creatures from another dimension.
> 
> Boy Ichigo is in for a ride
> 
> tags will be added as the story progresses.

_No one knows exactly when it started or why._

_All people knew, was that these demonic creatures had one day appeared, preying on unsuspecting humans and devouring them to gain more power. The situation became so desperate, that humans had to come up with a way to fight against these unusual creatures._

_That’s when a group of spiritually strong folk grouped together to form the first Shinigami division, taking their name from the gods of death of mythology._

_With their enhanced spirit-infused blades, the Shinigami began battling against the white masked monsters in an attempt to protect humans from these monstrous creatures._

_Not everyone could become a Shinigami, only those with a strong spiritual pressure could even consider joining their ranks to guard the world from Hollows. Hollows were mostly just mindless beasts, demons set on devouring and destroying the human race._

_This was the story each child was taught since birth, including Ichigo Kurosaki._

_He believed it, why wouldn’t he?_

_After all… he had seen one attack his mother and kill her when he was just a little boy. That event had traumatized him, and he’d sworn to protect everybody he cared for, promised to make sure nobody else had to die on his watch._

_However, there were things that not everybody knew about these beings. One of these people was Kurosaki, but he was about to learn. Learn that not everything was so black and white, and furthermore; winners got to write the history books._

 

 

 

The young man cursed under his breath, while hiding behind a large slab of stone.

Coming here had not been a good idea after all - like he’d suspected; things had quickly gone down the drain just moments after they arrived, with Ichigo noticing something was following them, and the trio ending up separated. Sure, he didn’t really have to go, Urahara had not asked him to join in on the mission. It was just, there was no way he’d allow that mad hatter to thrust his friends into a dangerous mission without him.

Apparently he’d accidentally lost something important while he’d been in this place last time - some sort of spiritual energy detector or so - and had requested Renji and Rukia to go get it for him.

Sure, those two were very skilled fighters even if they were considered rookies by Shinigami standards, but going to Hueco Mundo - the land of demonic monsters and humanoids - with just two people was always risky. It was not like Ichigo was hugely more experienced, granted; he just generally did not like the idea of his friends going into a dangerous mission without him being there to protect them if needed.

Hell, this whole trip was because the damn hatter had accidentally dropped something in here out of clumsiness.

Ichigo cursed Urahara in his mind as he manages to sneak past the group of larger hollows unnoticed; he was by no means incapable of taking them on, but he was stuck in a damn cave, and could risk a collapse if he swung his weapon around carelessly. The ginger had learned that the hard way earlier on, during his first missions as a Shinigami official; he’d gotten his sword stuck to a ceiling dumbly, because he hadn’t taken the low ceiling of the area into account.

The young man breathes a sigh of relief once he is far away enough from the patrolling creatures. Hueco Mundo was not a place one wanted to be stuck in by themselves; the creatures inhabiting it - the demonic, twisted beings they referred to as Hollows - were highly hostile and would kill any mortal like him when on sight. Hell, apparently they even slaughtered their own kind a lot. Not that it was too different from humans.

Or, it would not have been, if it wasn’t for the beings’ cannibalistic tendencies.

It always made Ichigo shudder, the thought that Hollows ate their own kind to grow stronger. Nobody knew why they did so and why it worked, but it had been like this for a very long time. Ichigo looks around cautiously, but could not sense anything nearby. Rukia and Renji were likely still in the cave system as well, given they’d been looking around in the place for the supposed thing Urahara lost.

Ichigo could not stop but wonder just why the hell the man had not come and searched for it himself in the first place.

Well, to be fair, Urahara was in shit shape when he’d come back, but surely the man could have waited until he healed and then gone back, he did that on a daily basis, studying the place and these beings.

That thing he’d lost, it better had to be worth all this bullshit.

As the young shinigami turns a corner, he is spotted by a group of smaller hollows, who instantly point out his presence and begin chasing him. Normally Ichigo would have dispatched them with ease, but he was again in a goddamn cave with a fragile ceiling; he’d already fallen down one hole, he didn’t wanna do it again. Having no choice, he runs, trying to shake off the group.

One of them spits acid at his direction, missing him by an inch, melting the rocks the poison landed on.

The ginger quickly leaps down to an opening ahead, thus venturing deeper into the dark caverns. It was not exactly a pleasant idea, but he had no choice given further ahead all that was waiting for him was a dead end. Once he lands, Ichigo looks up, noting that the tree monsters had stopped at the entrance of the hole. They glared down at him, snarling and making other animalistic noises, but they did not venture any further.

In fact, Ichigo could tell from their auras that the three were...afraid?

The ginger frowns as he lights up a ball of kido - spiritual energy compressed into a form of a glowing ball - to see properly where he was.

It was just a round hole, but he noted there was a small pathway leading somewhere. It was not even a pathway per say, but rather a crack on the wall, just wide enough for someone his size to squeeze trough. Ichigo suddenly realized why the trio above was unnerved. He could sense something behind the crack, a lingering presence unlike anything he’d ever sensed in Hueco Mundo.

Cautiously, Ichigo steps closer and places a hand against the wall next to the narrow path. Nothing happened, but he could sense there was something... or someone, behind the wall.

Glancing up, Ichigo figures he really had no choice right now; going up and confronting the Hollow trio would probably be a bad idea as it could collapse the whole place on him. He could actually sense a wisp of wind coming from behind the crack too.

Taking in a deep breath, Ichigo squeezes himself to the small space, and slowly creeps his way through. It was definitely claustrophobic, but he had a feeling there was a way out of the cave system behind this wall. He’d be able to sense where his friends were much better from above ground, given they had mostly - hopefully - remained on the first levels of the cavern system, as that was where Urahara had lost his thing apparently.

Ichigo had ended up deeper by accident, when a bigger hollow had crumbled the floor from beneath him during a battle. After what felt like an eternity, Ichigo finally pops out, and as he looks around, he abruptly realizes he was in a completely new setting. Looking around, it was clear this was no ordinary cave; the walls were smooth and tall, the ceiling high above his head.

There were stone pillars all around him and the place was spacious as all hell, he could hear the echo of his own footsteps as he walked along.

”What the hell is this place?”

It was clearly not a natural phenomenon, but some sort of ...building.

Ichigo frowns, as he could not remember there ever being any in Hueco Mundo, ever.

Hollows did not build things as far as they knew.

Had that crack actually been a portal to another dimension or something?

Moments later his suspicion is proven false, as a flying hollow suddenly charges down at him with a shriek.

Reflexively, Ichigo brings up his sword and swings at it, cutting the fiend’s wing off and making it crash against the wall behind him with an unpleasant screech. Ichigo doesn’t bother checking if the thing was dead, just runs towards the bit of light he’d spotted to his left. Ichigo enters to another room, and quickly notes the light was coming from a massive hole at the ceiling above.

It almost looked like there had been a battle in this place, long time ago, given the rubble around him, and several slash-like marks on the walls, defacing what seemed to be...murals?

What on _earth_ had he stumbled upon?

Ichigo walks closer to the nearest wall; it had a giant crack on it, as if something big had once been thrown against it.

You could no longer make out what the picture in the middle was, but from the edges some bits were coherent.

It showcased bunch of Hollows, seemingly bowing at whatever was in the middle, now illegible.

Ichigo could tell it was those things, given the weirdly shaped heads the portrayed creatures had. As he looks around, he notes there were even more images around him; this whole room was covered in murals, most of them unreadable at this point. However, he does spot something he recognizes; in one smaller image in a fallen pillar, it had a figure that looked a lot like a Shinigami, given the robes.

Although....they were weirdly colored, inverted of sorts; perhaps this portrayed a captain?

Captains had more white in their overalls.

Even so though...the person in the pillar looked somehow off; the outfit felt a bit too decorative to be that of a Shinigami’s.

Maybe it was an older style of sorts?

Did this place relate to the Shinigami somehow?

Ichigo had never even heard of any sort of temple in Hueco Mundo, not relating to their kindred, or anything else for that matter. He walks closer to examine the pillar more, when suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him, and Ichigo has to lean against a piece of fallen rubble sticking out of the ground, as he holds his head.

This room...something bad had happened in there.

Whoever had had a fight; it had been a fight to the death.

Ichigo slips to sit down to the ground, just to try and catch his breath. He had always been notably sensitive with his spiritual power, so he could often tell if something had happened in a place, especially if it was something bad. Whatever this place was, and whatever ruined it... the room was seriously making his body shiver unpleasantly. Perhaps that’s why those Hollows were reluctant to follow him?

They knew about this place.

After a moment, Ichigo manages to collect himself and gets back up, figuring that he should head out before this place would really affect him with its atmosphere.

As he steps out from the pillar’s shadow however, something catches his attention. The light from above was hitting something smaller, sticking out of the ground. Ichigo’s eyes widen; there was a _sword_ , jutting out from the floor.

It looked...strange. Almost like someone had stuck the weapon in there on purpose, given how it was in the middle of the room.

Ichigo stalks closer, wondering if it belonged to a shinigami that had once lost their life venturing in this place.

Examining the blade closely, Ichigo had to admit that if it belonged to someone from their ranks, it looked very weird. Most of them had black hilts with little color splashed on them, but this sword had a blue hilt. Not to mention, the blade itself was white, not metallic silver.

As Ichigo inches even closer, he again starts to feel something strange in the air; what he’d sensed from the crack, it was coming from that sword.

Part of him urged the young man to forget about the strange weapon, but his curious side brought him even closer to the object. He had never seen a blade like this. It had clearly stood there for a long time given the dust on it, and the way the hilt had dulled in what probably used to be an intense tone of blue. However, the blade itself looked pristine, as if whoever stuck it there had done it only recently.

He stops just few feet away, close enough to reach for the hilt and grab it.

Ichigo lifts his hand as if in trance, but then stops, slapping himself mentally; what was he doing?

Touching anything unusual in Hueco Mundo could be highly dangerous and at least very dumb idea.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash behind him, and as Ichigo turns, he spots two of the bigger hollows entering the large hall, led by the annoying fucker who’d chased Ichigo earlier. The thing called himself ’Shrieker’ or so. While mostly animalistic creatures, some Hollows could actually talk, and most of the time those who did were loudmouthed as all hell. This one was no exception.

”There you are Shinigami!”

The being growls at him, clearly not happy about the nasty slash he’d received on his face from Ichigo’s blade. The ginger quickly grabs the hilt of his sword, and jumps aside to not be hit by the hollow’s bomb leeches.

”I am tired of chasing you around, just go and drop dead already!” The winged Hollow yells at him, stomping towards Ichigo and seemingly ignoring the strange object embedded to the ground nearby.

His follower examines it curiously however, clearly unsure on what it was.

”Then stop doing it. Simple.” Ichigo reprimands, not even bothering to play this word-game anymore, it was so not worth it.

”Smartassery is not going to save you, kid!” The hollow growls – talk about hypocrisy with this guy - and spits acid at him, making Ichigo jump aside, and then quickly having to slice the little creatures the hollow sent at him to bits, not wanting those bomb leeches all over him again.

”Yeah, I think I’m tired of dealing with your bad attempt at wit.”

The hollow growls at him, but before it could send another armada of its minions after him; Ichigo swings his blade again, cutting off its arm. The creature groans and quickly jumps back, gaining the attention of his companion, who looked at them with a tilted head.

”Don’t just stand there like a fool Fishbone! Do something!”

The monster growls at his companion, who turns his attention away from the blade and charges at Ichigo with a growl. Now that he was no longer stuck in a cave, Ichigo no longer felt the need to hold back. He tightens his grip on his blade as a smirk spread across his face. He swiftly moves away from the path of the strong punch that cracks the floor at the spot he’d stood in, jumping over the Hollow and stepping on its head, launching himself into the air.

Ichigo spins around mid-air and summons his spiritual energy into his weapon and swings it, releasing a horizontal blast at the hollow behind him.

The attack creates a deep slash on the creatures back and throws him against the wall face first, but it is not strong enough to kill it yet.

Ichigo could not wait for the day he could get himself a proper soul-cutter to channel his energy properly, as these trainee ones were sometimes a pain in the ass.

....Okay, it was not just the sword granted, he still hadn't learned how to properly use his spiritual pressure either. Having a proper sword meant nothing if you couldn't channel your power efficiently anyway. It was just kinda hard to control the sheer amount Ichigo knew he had. Especially when one was impatient like he could be.

He lands on his feet and skids back a bit, just as the large hollow scrambles of the wall, glaring at him viciously.

It charges at him again with lightning speed, and Ichigo quickly brings up his sword to block another strike aimed at him. For a relatively weak hollow, this guy did not pull his punches, actually forcing Ichigo to back away slightly with his strength.

”You’re a lot less talkative than your buddy, huh?”

The hollow just growls at him and swings his other clawed hand, attempting to literally slice off Ichigo’s head. The ginger quickly kicks the hollow back, enough so that the hit misses his head and just manages to cut the ends of his hair before striking the floor. The ginger uses the opportunity presented to him as the Hollow realizes his claws were stuck on the floor and strikes its mask with his sword, effectively cracking it.

Best way to kill these things was to break the mask-like thing on their heads.

Sure enough a large amount of blood gushed from the wound and the creature stumbles back, holding its head in pain.

Ichigo did not really like doing this too much, even if these things were monsters; they were still living beings and he had never been fond of the thought of having to kill them, even if it was for the sake of protecting someone, or himself. He preferred to end them as quickly as he could, to not cause unnecessary suffering.

So, he lifts his sword to cut the pained creature’s head off, only to feel something attach on his back.

Just few seconds later, that thing explodes; burning him and making him stumble to the ground, bleeding all over. His blade had broken thanks to the explosion, lying uselessly in pieces nearby Ichigo.

Shit, he’d forgotten about that other one.

”Ha! Serves you right, Shinigami!” The Hollow laughs from above, before diving back down, sinking his claws into Ichigo’s shoulder, making him groan in pain.

”You should never turn your back to the enemy, dumbass!”

The shrieker mocks him, digging the claws even deeper into his flesh. It hurt so badly, that Ichigo knew he was going to black out very soon.

Shit, this was a stupid way to go; he should NOT be having trouble with a Hollow of this level.

He'd made a _stupid_ mistake.

Ichigo did do them often, granted, being a relative rookie, but he had never actually made one bad enough to potentially cost his life.

”Now, I’m gonna eat ya.” The hollow smirks at him.

Ichigo just spits blood at its face, blinding the hollow for a second and he looks around quickly. For his surprise, the strange sword that had been jutting from the ground earlier was now on the floor, just by his reach. Ichigo knew that grabbing something unknown like this weapon could be a bad idea, but he had no choice; his own was in pieces on the floor, completely useless.

”You little shit! You’ll pay for that!”

The sharp claws sink further into his flesh but Ichigo bites back a groan, grasping the sword and quickly bringing it between them, effectively stopping the thing from biting his head off.

The Hollow growls irritated, trying to pry the sword away.

”This old rusty toothpick is not going to save you, boy!”

Ichigo finally lets out the pained moan, as his arms were shaking badly; he’d lost far too much blood.

 

 

**_Toothpick? Watch yer fuckin’ mouth, peasant._ **

 

 

They both pause as a voice echoes around them.

Shrieker looks around confused, and even his companion seemed confused about where that sound was coming from.

Suddenly, an intense blue light emitted from the sword Ichigo was holding, and the energy blast forces the hollow off him. Ichigo watches in daze and confusion as the blue energy surrounds him, and the next moment he felt as if something was pulling him off the floor.

Ichigo stood up shakily, staring at the blade in his hands. Bits of red were coloring his vision, likely his own blood, and his mind was numb. Yet, it felt like something was slowly pushing away his dizziness and nausea.

No, it was not really revitalizing him per say. Rather, it felt like something else was partially controlling his body, forcing it to get up.

”What the....what kind of trick is this?!” The hollow demands annoyed and jumps back into the air, floating above Ichigo.

The ginger felt his legs sway, and his brain was humming with static.

 

 

**_This might sting a little, kid._ **

 

 

Next thing he knew, it almost felt like something struck sharp claws right through his chest and Ichigo yelps in agony.

However, as he glances down, there was nothing there. Aside from the injuries he already had that was.

A second later, the pain was replaced by an immense energy entering his body, and Ichigo gasps in shock and surprise, as his ache and dizziness burns away - metaphorically speaking - replaced by an intense amount of energy. Ichigo feels his face twist into a slight smirk, although he was uncertain if it was him doing it right now.

He turns his head up to look at Shrieker, who was examining him dubiously.

”What the hell did you do, boy?!”

Ichigo has a retort ready, but his body won’t let him speak a word.

Instead, he raises his hands and the sword, and slashes the air, sending a bright blue slash attack heading at the hollow. It was nothing like the one he’d done before; for one, his spiritual energy was usually golden, not blue. Second, this blast was MUCH bigger and more powerful.

The hollow clearly seems to realize it, as it quickly flies aside, barely managing to dodge the sweeping attack that actually slices the roof in half. Ichigo’s eyes widen as the giant chunks fall to the ground with Shrieker dodging all the giant slabs of stone the best he could.

For a moment, Ichigo could not see a thing as the entire area was covered in dust.

Then, suddenly that other hollow appears from the dust cloud and charges at him. Ichigo felt his body move and he brings the sword up, blocking the attack. No, not only blocking it; blue light emits from the sword again, and it blasts the hollow away, flying up against the part of the roof that was still intact.

The giant Hollow falls to the ground, its mask cracked from several places.

The ginger feels something urge his body to move again, and he walks towards the hollow, the blue energy coating him like an armor of energy. Ichigo could actually see his wounds slowly heal as the strange aura entered his body. It would have been great, had it not been clear that his body was not under his control right now.

He was now walking towards the thing, a sinister grin on his face with the tip of his blade scraping the ground as he walked. Ichigo had not commanded his body to move; someone was making him do it. Ichigo struggled against the hold over him, feeling slight terror creep into his mind.

The hollow manages to sit up and holds its bleeding head, then, Ichigo watches in confusion as its eyes widen and it backs away, now clearly afraid of something.

The ginger was fairly sure it wasn’t him, but whatever had taken a hold of his body. Whatever it was, it had a sinister aura to it, and Ichigo wanted it to stop; what if this thing would make him hurt his friends?

He struggles again, grasping his head with a groan.

”Get... _out_...of my head!”

There was a low growl emanating in the air, and Ichigo felt cold chills travel down his spine. Ichigo tries to drop the sword, but his hand was firmly locked around the hilt. He struggles to reach for it with his other hand, groaning in pain as it hurt to resist the hold on him. Almost if something was grabbing his wrist and trying to yank it back.

 

 

**_You wanna die, kid?_ **

 

 

”Whatever...you are...just...let go of me!”

A bit of his golden aura mixes in to the blue glow surrounding him, and suddenly the heavy, oppressing presence lifts, although he could still feel something around his neck, like some sort of invisible vine that was wrapped around it.

Ichigo pants for a moment, his body shaking from strain as his injuries began to have an effect again.

There was a light chuckle in the air, and a second later, he could hear that voice again, only this time it was speaking right into his ear.

 

 

**_Fine. Show me what you got, kid._ **

 

 

A second later, Ichigo feels his mind regain control of his body, and he jumps aside, just as Shrieker throws his bombs at him.

Instead, the leeches hit his companion, and the injured hollow is finally put out of its misery, as one of those things completely obliterates its head. Ichigo stares the scene in slight shock, and then he suddenly realizes that he was no longer dizzy or injured. The blue glow still surrounded him, but there was a layer of gold beneath, his own spiritual aura coating him.

His injuries were no longer bleeding, and as he dodged another attack, it felt like somebody or something had just dumped a shitload of energy into him.

Ichigo quickly swings the sword to slice through the barrage of minions sent at him, splitting them in half and having a row of explosions in mid-air. He jumps back to the wall and then leverages himself towards the hollow in the air, swinging the blade and sending another blast towards Shrieker. It was no longer blue, but clearly stronger than anything he had been able to channel through a blade before.

Shrieker attempts to fly out of the way again, but this time the Hollow is too slow, and the attack slices his wing off, making him fall to the ground.

Ichigo lands to the ground several feet away from the injured Hollow, and brings the blade up again as it manages to scramble off the ground. Hollows could regenerate their limbs, but it would take some time. He had to finish this guy before he re-grew the wing. Ichigo sprints forward with a shout, startling the hollow, and jumps up, swinging the blade up to strike the thing to the head and finish this once and for all.

However, Shrieker quickly takes an advantage of an opportunity, and throws a leech at him, not just any leech; this exploding bug was much bigger than the previous ones.

If it hit him, he’d likely die instantly. Ichigo’s eyes widen as he realizes he would not have enough time to dispose of the thing before it hit him.

A blast radiates through the air as the thing explodes, and Shrieker grins and laughs manically, expecting the Shinigami to drop dead to the ground, perhaps even having his head missing, which would have been delightful in the Hollow’s eyes.

Instead, a blue blast emits from the air, dissipating the dust all around them, the shock-wave even sending some smaller rocks and debris fly across the air.

Shrieker stares up in confusion; the shinigami was floating in mid-aid, his eyes closed and surrounded by that blue light again.

He had minor injuries from the blast, but for the hollows confusion, the Shinigami was mostly unharmed.

Even his injuries from before had completely disappeared.

”What the...”

Suddenly, the blue light around him begins to morph and take a different shape. Something akin to a long, whip-like tail appears to the aura surrounding him, alongside what seemed to be elongated ears. The weirdest part however, was that the kid’s hair began to change color. The fiery orange bled out of it, and both his hair and skin turned white.... like the appearance of a Hollow.

”What the hell is going on?!”

Shrieker throws another leech at him in hopes of ending the fucker once and for all.

Instead, the now pale figure just swings the sword, slicing the thing in half and not even allowing it to explode. Ichigo’s head bends forward, and then, a grin unlike his own spreads to his face again. As his eyes open, they were that of a hollow, black. Instead of a yellow glow however, his eyes had a blue hue to his irises.

Before the Hollow managed to utter out any further words, the Shinigami was suddenly right at his face, and the creature quickly jumps away, before his head was sliced off.

The strike leaves a deep gash to the wall, probably going all the way through it.

The aura emanating from the cackling figure was not that of a Shinigami, or human for that matter.

No, there was no way this power came from this kid; it was something else.

At the back of his head, Shrieker recalls something about other hollows musings; apparently something about this place was bad, cursed or some shit. He had not put much weight on it. However… looking at the kid, he was clearly possessed by something powerful. Perhaps he should have heeded the warnings after all and not followed the shinigami brat here.

He dodges another attack, which goes and obliterates the large pile of debris he’d hid behind, turning it into dust.

Shit, this was bad, he’d better get out of here, before….. Next thing he knew, a hand pierced through his chest, spreading blood everywhere.

A _hand_ , not a blade.

Shinigamis did not use their bare hands to fight them, ever.

The Hollow shrieks in pain again, and stares down at the Shinigami in horror.

The young man - or rather the being in him - lets out another maniac cackle, before yanking his hand back, splattering more blood around them, including on his own black robes.

The Fatally wounded hollow slumps to the ground only for the possessed Shinigami to reach down towards him, and literally grab his tongue and rip it off with a swift yank, spilling more blood around them in the process.

Shrieker lets out one last noise, before dropping dead to the floor.

_”That oughta teach ya whom ya call a toothpick, fucker.”_

The shinigami snarls at the corpse and spits to the ground beside it, his voice lower than before.

He then takes an inventory on himself, an amused smile twisting his lips in an uncharacteristic manner, as he saw the blood on him.

_“Been too long since I was able ta do this; suppose I owe ya, kid. As much as I hate bein’ indebted to a fucking Shinigami.”_

Moments later, the blue glow disappears from around him, and Ichigo turns back to normal, slumping to the ground with the blue blade still on his hand.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo woke up abruptly, panting harshly.

He attempts to get up, but a hand lands on his chest, forcing him to stay down.

”Please refrain yourself from doing any further damage, Kurosaki-dono.” It was the big guy who worked for Urahara, Tessai.

He was in the mad hatter’s medical wing, nearly wrapped up in bandages to the teeth. It was clearly exaggerated amount as he did not feel THAT injured. Urahara was just overdoing it again.

”What...where’s Rukia and Renji?”

”Kuchiki and Abarai-san are both awake and mostly uninjured. They did wonder what had happened to you while you were separated. You were covered in blood when they found you and it really scared them both.”

There was a clear scolding tone in his voice, and Ichigo looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. He still hated the fact he’d nearly been taken out by two relatively weak hollows. Ichigo had joined in to this mission to protect his friends from potential dangers, but in the end he just ended up stupidly endangering himself. Then, the last part of Tessai’s sentence hits home, and he looks at the man with widened eyes.

”Covered in blood?”

Now when he thought about it… Ichigo could not really remember what had happened. He vaguely recalled fighting two hollows, but... that was it. He must've hit his head pretty bad or something, giving him this strange black-out in his memory.

Tessai sighs and shakes his head with a concerned frown.

”It was mostly from the two hollows, but it clearly showed that you did not focus properly once again.”

The man moves his hands to his hips, glaring down at Ichigo with an overly serious stare, so serious it began to feel slightly comical.

”Truly, you may have strong spiritual power in you, but you still cannot use it very well. Be more careful next time, Kurosaki-dono.”

The man keeps scolding him and Ichigo sighs and nods, promising to be more careful. This was not the first time he received this pep-talk granted. A lot of people tended to point out his recklessness.

As he gazes towards the window - based on the light outside or lack of it thereof, it was likely late in the evening - Ichigo suddenly realizes that there was something resting on the table below it, wrapped in cloth.

”It was truly lucky you found that blade, or otherwise you would have perished.”

Tessai tsks at him, and Ichigo’s eyes widen as he stares at the white cloth covering the weapon. He slowly starts to recall some bits; about how he’d used that blade to fight against the two hollows when his training sword was beyond his reach.

There had been something else too, but Ichigo could not remember right now what it was.

After a moment, Ichigo shakes his head and leans back down with a sigh; he felt too tired still to try and ponder this.

”It seems that whoever that blade belonged to, it is sturdier than the flimsy practice sword you had. The spiritual pressure required to destroy those two hollows the way they had been, any of our practice weapons would have just shattered like glass.”

Tessai frowns at Ichigo, crossing his arms.

”Sometimes you terrify me, boy.”

Ichigo snorts, wanting to roll his eyes: he had heard this story before as well. People kept being awed and worried about his strong spiritual energy. It was just that it should not have been so surprising, given that both of his parents were strong, spiritually adept people.

 **Strong** being the keyword here.

 

A second later the door bursts open and Ichigo witnesses the raven haired woman and the redhead male enter the room, with a stern, positively angry look in Rukia’s face.

”What were you thinking!? We were supposed to stay together!”

”Those two were stalking us so I was just trying to make sure they would not attack you two!”

Ichigo defends his decision to go after the two stalking them and split from the duo. Clearly Rukia was having none of it, as she slaps his head, ignoring the injuries he had, and proceeded to rip him a new one as per usual. Tessai and Renji just watched the short girl rant, definitely not going to try and stop her to earn her ire as well. For her small stature, Kuchiki could be fierce if she wanted to.

”This better be the last time you almost die on us!”

She finishes her rant with a deep breath, slumping to sit on the bed exhausted.

”You were covered in so much blood... we thought you were going to die this time for sure.”

Ichigo blinks, and then glances at himself.

Just....how much there had been to freak his friends out this bad?

The thought felt...weird, given he was not the type to smear his opponent's blood everywhere. If most of it had _not_ been his however...

Ichigo frowns and rubs his head, trying to remember what happened.

Nothing, his brain was still blank.

”Seriously Ichigo, you gotta start being more careful! Just because you have a lot of spiritual energy, it doesn’t mean you can go around swinging your sword recklessly like a dumbass.”

Oh great, now Renji was joining in the chorus.

He’d remained neutral to this whole topic for so long, but it seemed this latest incident broke the camel’s back.

Really, it was not like Ichigo did not appreciate and understand their worry.

He just...he did not like leaving the defense of those he cared for in anyone else’s hands. Not after what had happened to his mum. Besides he had thought he could deal with those two easier. Ichigo had not expected to be lured into a trap and caught off guard the way he had been. Again, stupid, rookie mistake that he'd feel ashamed over for a long, long time.

The ginger sighs and lifts his hand to rub his eyes, only to flinch and lean back down as the movement caused a severe headache hit his brain.

”I think it is for the best for us to let him rest for now.” Tessai concludes, and Rukia gives him one last stern glance, before the trio leaves the room, closing the door behind them.

 

Ichigo sighs and gazes at the ceiling, though he had to close his eyes soon due to the lights dancing in his eyes thanks to the headache.

The ginger huffs out an irritated sigh, shifting to lie a bit more comfortable.

Perhaps he should just take Tessai’s advice and rest, he likely needed it.

Plus maybe he’d feel less embarrassed about this whole mess tomorrow.

 

 

 

_The ginger wakes up abruptly as a sense of dread fills his mind. He was not alone in the room In the corner, Ichigo could see a pair of blue, almost feline-like eyes stare at him from the darkness._

_Was he dreaming?_

_The young man attempts to move, but his body was strangely paralyzed, as if some invisible force was holding him down._

_Given how blurry his vision was, and how there was nothing holding him down, the ginger felt that perhaps he was indeed dreaming._

_Ichigo felt a sense of dread creep into him as those blue eyes kept staring at him, their glare piercing right through his skull, metaphorically speaking. It was so quiet around them._

_Like the whole world was holding its breath._

_Ichigo attempts to move again, and the figure moves away from the corner instantly, appearing crouched right above him, shadowing the injured young man completely._

_It was too dark for him to make out much even this close by, but Ichigo noted that the being - what was it, a spirit? A hollow? - had unusual ears, reminiscent of a cat’s, except kind of long even for a feline._

_One of the creatures’ hands rested beside his head, and as Ichigo glances at it, he notes it looks like a human limb._

_Except, it was covered in white bone-armor, and the limb ended in black, sharpened claws at the fingertips._

_He could imagine the thing rip his throat open with those long, black nails, and the thought made his heart beat rapidly in his chest. The reaction clearly did not go unnoticed, as a flash of white appears in the darkness, as the being grins at him lightly._

_What was this thing, and what did it want from him?_

_Suddenly, a strong hand grasps his jaw, forcing him to look up at the creature examining him properly._

_It was a miracle those sharp nails did not sink into his flesh, as he could feel them press against it unpleasantly._

_For a moment, Ichigo just gazes at the blue eyes examining him. It was terrifying, as he could not move, nor did not know what this creature was._

_The smirk aimed at him did not help one bit; it was not a happy smile, but rather, nightmare inducing, violent smirk._

_”Ya know, it still pisses me off I was released by a fuckin’ Shinigami fledgling like you.”_

_Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat; so the thing could talk?_

_What’s more, his voice - it was clearly a male - was equally unnerving to the smile aimed at him._

_It was rough, and had a hint of instability to it._

_In fact.... It sounded… familiar?_

_Like he’d heard that voice before._

_The ginger attempts to speak, or try to move, but the being just snorts and jumps off from him, disappearing back into the shadows._

_Moments later, Ichigo blacks out again, his mind forgetting all about this dream, for now._

 

 

 

The next day, Ichigo’s family comes to see him. As expected, Yuzu was crying her eyes out, while Karin gave him an earful about his recklessness.

Isshin just watched her rant with an awkward smile, before stating he was glad Ichigo was okay - then proceeded to give his son a bone-crushing hug, which Ichigo naturally protested to.

”Really, you need to stop making your old man worry! Papa is sad he has such a reckless son!” Isshin whines at him while Ichigo pushes him off by his face, before flinching and cursing inwardly as the action made his body hurt.

”Dad is right, Ichigo! Start thinking before you act!”

Karin berates him, and the ginger just rubs his eyes, knowing there was no point to try and defend himself. Karin and Rukia were too much alike with this, once they got going, you really could not stop them. It was not that they were wrong, either. He could just do without the rant each and every time he got injured.

”Calm down Karin, Ichi-nii clearly has a headache."

Yuzu attempts to calm her sister, noticing the way Ichigo was holding his head. Upon noticing the frown on his face, the raven haired girl shuts up, but Ichigo knew she was still not done being mad at him.

”Isshin san, I must discuss with you about something.”

Urahara suddenly appears on the doorway, holding his trademark fan in front of his face. Given his serious expression, Ichigo figured it was something serious. Isshin looks at the man confused, but then follows Urahara out from the room, leaving Ichigo alone with his siblings.

”Are Rukia-san and Renji-san okay?” Yuzu asks him, and Ichigo nods.

”Apparently they were better off than me. But really, my state looked worse than it was.”

That comment gains a snort from Karin, but she holds her frustration back, just crossing her arms and glaring at Ichigo peeved. He understood it, really.

The young man just did not really need to be told off about this over and over, especially not when his head still hurt, making even the smallest noises loud in his ears.

”Are you well enough to tell what happened this time?”

Yuzu asks after a moment of silence, although based on her expression, it was pretty clear she was uncertain if she wanted to know.

”I just forgot to watch my six and a Hollow jumped on me, that all.”

”One hollow did that?”

”Two, actually. They tag-teamed me.”

Ichigo states defensively, gaining a deep frown from Karin.

”You reckless moron.” She states simply, holding back most of her fury for now.

”Did you defeat them?” Yuzu asks, attempting to offer a smile.

Ichigo goes quiet, unsure on what to say. He likely had, it was just... he could not remember how. His brain was mushy when it came to the events in that particular temple. Talking about the temple...

"Wonder what that place was, never seen anything like it in Hueco Mundo before.”

”You mean the place they found you from? I did hear Rukia and pineapple head talk about it to the mad hatter earlier.”

Karin comments with a frown, feeling slightly curious. It was not often that something in Hueco Mundo seemed to surprise Urahara-san. Whatever her brother and his friends had found now clearly did.

Eventually, Isshin comes back, offering a smile to Ichigo and the girls. It was slightly tense from the edges, indicating that whatever he and Urahara had spoken about, it had to be serious.

”Urahara-san said you’ll be able to come home in two days or so, so rest up will you?” The old man tells him, ruffling the orange strands atop of Ichigo’s head. The boy just grumbles and leans back down against the pillows.

Gods, his dad surely liked to treat him like a child even though Ichigo was already 19.

”We’ll come and visit you tomorrow, okay Ichi-nii?” Yuzu asks, gaining a noncommittal hum as a reply.

The ginger haired girl sighs but waves him bye regardless, following her dad and sister out, past Urahara who watches after them for a moment, before turning his attention to Ichigo.

”You gave us a scare Kurosaki-san.”

Ichigo snorts at that.

”Not you too! This would not have happened if you had not lost that thing in the first place.”

Ichigo pauses, and then turns to look at the man with a frown.

”Did they find it?”

Urahara folds his fan and sits at the feet end of the bed, his expression unreadable beneath the weird striped hat he always wore.

”You do not need to concern yourself with that, it is not important when compared to your own health.”

”You sent us in that dangerous mission that seemed highly urgent, and now you are telling me it is not important?! Besides, I’m fine.” Ichigo regretted his yelling instantly, as his throat started to hurt a bit. He was not as injured as the bandages suggested, but clearly there were some sore spots in his body.

”Please try not to get overly worked up; you still need time to recover. Besides, I specifically did not request you to join Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san.”

Ichigo just glares at him, but the man just keeps gazing at Ichigo with a stoic look on his face, which further irritated the youth.

”I get it, I screwed up, I don’t need all of you scolding me for it one by one for the umpteenth time.”

The ginger grumbles at the man, turning his gaze aside and towards the window. For a moment neither of them spoke, but then a question rose into Ichigo’s head, and he turns his gaze back at Urahara reluctantly.

“That place…what was it?”

The man hums, bringing his fan up to hide his face partially again.

“I am not so certain, but in all likeness, I’ll go and see it myself once I can stabilize a portal again. It is… an unusual find.”

“Should we inform Kyoraku-san about this?”

Kyoraku was the current head of the Shinigami as a whole; while initially he seemed like aloof, the man was highly powerful with his spiritual energy, and could be serious if the situation required it.

After a moment, Urahara shakes his head.

“Not yet; I want to figure out what it is first.”

Something told Ichigo that Urahara already had an idea on what that place had been, but he refused to share his knowledge with Ichigo. It was not like it was any of his business anyway. As Ichigo looked back towards the window again, he noted that the strange blade was still resting on the table, and it made Ichigo uneasy now for some reason.

There was something....strange about it, but he could not remember what.

”It was a lucky coincidence, that you found a sword strong enough to channel your power.” Urahara hums, turning his attention to the blade as well.

”It would be better if you’d learn to channel your strength properly to gain a proper Zanpakuto, using someone else’s is always risky.” Yep, the same old song again. Urahara loved to remind him that he was crap at controlling his spiritual power.

Ichigo lifts eyebrow and turns his gaze back at the sword.

So, did Urahara mean the old blade was perhaps a soul-infused one? it did not really feel like it, as Ichigo could not really sense anything from it, despite his brain thinking that the weapon was somehow weird.

Ichigo had seen sword infused spirits before; in fact, most Shinigamis had ones in their personal Zanpakutos, as their swords were called, that one would get after he or she was deemed ready to receive one. The ‘sword spirit’ in them was really born out of a piece of their own soul mixed with their spiritual energy as well as the spiritual pressure from nature itself. usually spiritually strong would be able to sense a sword spirit with ease, but Ichigo sensed nothing from the blue one.

 

”Granted, it doesn’t seem like this particular one has a spirit in it. It seems that whoever intended to infuse soul-energy into it never did it in the end.”

Urahara continues as if sensing his confused thoughts, thought it seemed like he was talking more to himself than Ichigo.

The ginger lifts eyebrow at him and the man gives him a sheepish smile.

“It is definitely _built_ to house a spirit in it, but it seems this blade is empty. Whoever it belonged to, they never had a chance to complete the ritual for one reason or another.”

Ichigo hums, turning his gaze back at the blade, having nothing to say to that.

 

 

That night, while Ichigo slept - he’d go home the next morning, as Urahara had concluded his injuries indeed were surprisingly minor - the sand blond haired man was sitting on the table, teacup in hand, talking to the woman who’d shown up there moments earlier.

”Do you believe that really is what you think it is?”

Yoruichi questions her old friend, although she knew full well that the man would not bring this up if he wasn't certain. Urahara gazes at the teacup in his hand for a moment, before sighing and putting down his hat for a moment, a sign what he was going to say was of high importance.

”I believe so. The engraving I saw in it...that blade belonged to one of _them_. Which, I am not certain yet.”

Yoruichi frowns, not liking this idea one bit.

”Will Kurosaki be in trouble?” She was fairly certain that a rookie having something as potentially dangerous as a blade of that caliber could be bad, even if the blade did not house a spirit in it.

”I do not know for certain, Yoruichi-san. The situation is...peculiar.”

The woman frowns, examining her friend. She knew all too well what it meant, when Kisuke used that word.

”Peculiar? How so? What do you know that I don’t?”

The man hums, drinking his tea, gaining a slightly irritated glare from his friend, who grabs his ear and tugs him closer from it.

”Tell me Kisuke! If Ichigo ends up in trouble because of you AGAIN, I swear...”

”Ow ow ow! Fine fine, I’ll tell you, just let go of my ear please before it stretches!” Satisfied, the dark skinned woman let’s go, and Kisuke rubs his ear, looking at her with miffed expression.

”I find it intriguing that he did not just die right off the bat the second he picked up the sword.”

”How so? Didn’t you say the blade was empty?”

The woman asks with a frown.

Urahara hums, glancing towards the room Ichigo slept in.

“…..Just because I cannot sense anything from it, it doesn’t necessarily mean the blade is empty. Their spiritual energy is different from ours, so naturally their sword-spirits have a different nature too, which might be the reason why we cannot detect anything.”

Yoruichi frowns, understanding what her friend meant. The fact Kisuke wasn’t sure if the sword had nothing in it or not, was a little unnerving.

”What should we do?”

”I think... we need to wait and see what happens. If there is something in it, I am fairly certain it will make its presence known sooner or later.”

Urahara states after a moment of thoughtful silence. He could tell the woman was not too happy about his idea, but also knew that the man likely had a good reason in wanting to see what was to come.

”Besides, Kurosaki keeps breaking his practice swords. Perhaps this one will hold up better.”

 

 

 

Ichigo was happy to be going back home finally.

He was tired of laying around in Urahara’s house, where it could occasionally get real loud due to his adoptive kids’ - Ururu and Ginta - antics. Not that his family was much quieter, but at least they let him have his personal space when he was injured. Ginta had actually busted into his room, sword-fighting with the gloomy-faced girl using their brooms, nearly hitting Ichigo in the head in the process.

What he was less enthusiastic about, was the fact Urahara had asked him to keep the blade he’d found.

”It seems this one is less fragile than the ones you had before. Keep it in your possession at least until we figure out whom it belonged to.”

Ichigo could tell from the glint in the man’s eyes that he was not telling the ginger everything, but he knew not to bother asking.

His father glanced at the canvas covered blade once but said nothing about it, indicating that whatever Urahara had talked with him about, it related to the blue and white blade. Given he could not move around much by himself yet as Ichigo still felt light-headed, he was forced to endure the embarrassment of his father carrying him to his room upstairs bridal style.

Ichigo just thanked whatever gods that his friends weren’t there to see it, having Karin snicker at him was bad enough.

After announcing that he’d be carrying Ichigo back downstairs once the dinner was done - and Ichigo trying to protest against the idea to no avail - the man leaves his son in peace for now. The ginger sighs, sitting on his bed and leaning his back against the wall.

His eyes drift at the cloth wrapped object that was now resting on top of his table, being out there by Karin, informing him that he should be the one taking care of it since he swung the sharp things around in the family - plus Urahara had asked him specifically to deal with it.

Overtime, his curiosity takes over from his strange unease, and Ichigo manages to bring himself to the end next to the table, and carefully grasps the blade. He pauses for a moment, but nothing happens; Ichigo could not sense a single wisp of energy from the thing, so he carefully removes it from the cloth and examines it.

There was no doubt; this was a high quality blade if he’d ever seen one, and clearly built to handle spiritual presence within as Urahara had said. It was kind of sad that there was nothing in it right now apparently, making it feel....hollow. Lonely, almost. It was a weird thing to associate with a sword, but Zanpakutos were usually more than just that; the spirits infused in them often served as companions and mentors to the wielder, and having a zanpakuto be void of one felt like a home without a resident.

Another thing that made it clear this was a soul-sword, was the fact that despite likely sticking out of the ground for god knows how long, the edge was still sharp as Ichigo ran a finger across it, cutting it in the process. Normal blades would have likely rusted away long ago.

He gazes as a single droplet of blood falls down from his finger, leaving a stain to the canvas of his blanket.

As Ichigo turns the blade to examine the flat side, he suddenly realizes there was some sort of carving near the hilt. It was weird to see, as majority of Shinigamis would not decorate their blades like this. It was a weapon for defense and offense, not an ornament to put to a wall. Even the overly fancy eyebrow-guy Yumichika did not do this. Ichigo ran his fingers over the carved image, feeling the etched lines on the blade’s surface.

The picture portrayed some sort of a feline, a panther perhaps, as it did not have a mane like a lion, nor any sort of markings like tigers.

Some sort of flame pattern emanated from it, and above the feline carving was a stylized number six. Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that, wondering what it meant. As he examines the hilt itself, he notes it was nothing too special, aside from the vivid blue color. It was still well made however, as it was sturdy enough to grasp, but not too thick to be hard to wield. The balance on the blade was good too, a detail Ichigo noted as he held it in a proper battle position, sharp end pointed away from him and upwards at an angle.

It was probably the best quality of a sword he’d ever wielded, though majority of others he had used were training swords, and those were crappy compared to proper zanpakutos.

Yet...even then, this blade was clearly of high quality. Easily on par with their squad captain's blades, those such as Rukia's brother Byakua, or Toshiro-san.

Suddenly, an image flashes in Ichigo’s head; him holding this sword, unable to let go of it for some reason.

Like something, or someone was _forcing_ him to hold it.

Ichigo quickly drops it to the floor with a clanging sound, just staring at it. Eventually, he gathers himself and wraps the thing up in cloth tightly, placing it back to the table.

Yeah, he was probably just still in the need of serious rest from his ordeal, making him imagine random shit.

.....right?


	2. Unease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo, slowly recovering from his ordeal, is having strange dreams he cannot really remember afterwards, and feels like something is following him.

_He was stuck, unable to move._

_It had pissed him off so much in the beginning, but his anger had grown quiet, as there was nothing he could do about it._

_That damn foolish cat, why did she have to do this? This was not protecting him. She'd just doomed him into eternal boredom, alone._

_Something approached him._

_It felt strong, though also inexperienced. He was having hard time in making out more detail at first._

_How long had it been again? It was clear his past sharp senses were rusty._

_As the presence comes closer, he realizes what it was._

_A Shinigami._

_Intense anger fills him, or it would have in the past._

_Now, there was no fucking point to it, he could not do a thing._

_He could not rip the bastard’s limbs off no matter how much he wanted it, not when his soul was trapped the way it was._

_The closer the presence got, the more he learned._

_It was young, younger than he expected given the amount of power he sensed._

_There were others around as well._

_His kindred._

_Weaklings._

_The shinigami was fighting with the weaklings, and actually struggling despite his spiritual pressure._

_Tsch, pathetic. What was the point of power if one could not even use it properly?_

_Being trapped alone with your past was one thing, having to witness this pathetic show felt like the worst kind of torture he could bear._

_The shinigami was struck down, but he was not dead._

_Suddenly, the golden aura reaches for him._

_What the hell was the Shinigami doing?_

_It almost made him laugh; did this kid have a death wish?_

_Then, as their auras merge, he suddenly realizes something strange._

_Instead of the kid being overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of his aura, some of his energy actually bleeds into the kid, something he'd never sensed before._

_Not only that; the chains binding him starts breaking, one by one._

_He was... free._

_The kid’s spiritual power actually yanked him free, at least partially._

_What the hell?_

 

**_”This old rusty toothpick is not going to save you, boy!”_ **

 

_He felt anger boil inside him, only this time he did not hold it back._

_He allows his energy to burst out from the blade, while reaching directly for the kid’s soul. It was very harsh, and likely would leave lasting after-effects to the kid, but he didn't care. The boy was a fucking Shinigami, so any problems and pain he caused by grabbing the kid's very core, he deserved it._

_Oh, he was gonna teach that weakling a fucking lesson, and since this dumbass wanted to get in close and personal, he might as well be of fuckin’ use._

 

 

 

Ichigo woke up, gasping for air.

He was lying on his own bed, staring at the ceiling.

After a moment, he brings his hand up to brush through his hair with a sigh. It had been two days since he’d come home from Urahara’s. He drops his hand, eyes still fixated on the wooden surface above his head, as he tries to recall his dream. Nothing, nothing but a vague feeling that something strange and alarming had happened. The ginger rolls to his side, and his eyes hit at the sword on the table again.

He had not dared to touch it since the last time, although his fear felt a little silly; according to Urahara there was no spirit in the blade, and even if there was, it could not actually hurt Ichigo; sword spirits could refuse to cooperate with the wrong wielder, but they could not harm anybody directly without their master's presence.

Still... He pushes himself up, and after a moment of hesitation, picks up the blade again.

Like last time, he did not feel any sort of spiritual pressure emanating from it.

”I wonder, whom you belonged to?”

Ichigo mutters out, again running his fingers over the panther image on the blade.

He was fairly certain the animal and the number had some sort of significance, but so far Urahara had not reported in on finding the potential owner from their records. Sure, if this was just a common sword, then naturally it would not be found from their logs. Except, it was fairly obvious this was a zanpakuto.

There was no reason to build a sword spiritually sturdy if it was not meant to house one.

Perhaps... it used to have a spirit, but it died alongside the master?

Wasn’t that what usually happened?

At least, that’s what Ichigo recalled about their zanpakuto lessons. Once the owner perished, the sword spirit would dissipate as well. Except, the sword itself would also shatter then, something that clearly hadn’t happened here.

As he tilts the blade up, the moonlight from the window hits it, and he notes he could see his reflection on it.

It honestly amazed him; sure, Urahara had likely cleaned it from dust before handing it over to Ichigo, but it was in such a good shape compared to the worn hilt, which was the indication of the blade’s true age, despite its near pristine shape otherwise.

Though, with a little paint-job and polishing, even the hilt could be fixed, as it wasn’t really fundamentally broken, just had small cracks on the surface and the decorative elements had worn out.

As he gazed at his own reflection for a moment, Ichigo noted he had bags under his eyes.

It was not too surprising, given he had just been woken up abruptly from a dream he couldn’t remember. Suddenly, Ichigo’s curtains move slightly as if wind touched them, which was not possible as his window was closed.

When he turns his attention back to the blade in his hand from the weird motion, he nearly feels his heart leap in his throat, and he drops the sword again, scooting back in his bed with wide eyes.

For a brief second, the reflection on the blade surface had not been his, but he’d seen sharp, blue eyes staring back at him.

Ichigo just sits there, but nothing happens.

He could not sense any spiritual pressure from anywhere nearby, let alone the blade.

After a moment, Ichigo swallows down nervously and grasps the canvas, wrapping the blade into it and putting it back on the table, as far away from him as possible.

Perhaps he was just so tired he was seeing things, the young man reasoned with himself.

Surely, if there was something in it, he’d sensed it long ago.

The ginger leans back down to the bed, turning his back to the blade and curling up under the blankets, trying to get some sleep again.

 

 

That morning, Ichigo was really tired, yawning on the breakfast table.

Yuzu asked him concerned if he was okay, but Ichigo just shrugged, saying that he did not sleep that well due to a headache. Isshin scolded him about it, telling Ichigo that he should have gotten some painkillers for himself or so, but the young man just shrugs, too exhausted to even try and deal with his dad right now. After finishing the breakfast, Ichigo heads to the shower.

He was able to walk around by himself by taking support from the walls, but he still got some dizzy spells every now and then.

The warm water helped to soothe him a little, although the incident from last night still haunted his mind. What if he had _not_ been seeing things in his exhaustion like he initially thought?

Could there be a spirit in the blade, despite him not sensing any spiritual energy from it?

Plus... he still could not remember how exactly he had defeated those hollows.

All he knew was that he had used the blue blade, and there had been a lot of blood.

Ichigo sighs and turns off the water, stepping out and drying himself with a towel.

After putting on some pants, he dries his hair, which was starting to be a little tricky as it had grown a bit. Ichigo closes his eyes as he throws the towel over his head, ruffling his hair roughly to get most of the water out. Suddenly, a chill travels down his spine, and Ichigo freezes, glancing around from under the towel. He felt like someone was watching him. Yet, he was clearly alone in the bathroom.

The ginger shakes his head; he was likely still just suffering from some sort of stress reaction from his ordeal, or his exhaustion was making him sense things that weren't there.

Being attacked from behind like that tended to leave one paranoid.

As Ichigo steps out of the shower, he notes that they had a guest. It was Inoue, who seemed relieved to see him, but once she realized he was shirtless, the girl blushed and turned her gaze away. Ichigo smiled awkwardly, and then quickly tugged on a shirt as his sister gave him a pointed look.

It was always awkward for Ichigo; he was aware of Inoue’s crush, but... she was more like a sister to him. Important yes, but he had never felt that kind of pull towards her.

”What brings you here this early?”

Ichigo asks the girl, who plays with her hair, looking aside.

”It’s...ten in the morning Kurosaki-kun, it’s not really that early.”

”Oh, my bad.” Ichigo chuckles, rubbing his head with a sheepish smile.

”I just...I wanted to make sure you were okay. What I heard...” Her voice turns shaky, and Ichigo sighs, figuring that she had likely heard about how he had been ’covered in blood’ when he’d been brought to Urahara.

”Don’t worry, it looked worse than it was.”

Ichigo reassures her with a smile, and after a moment, she smiles back at him.

”Don’t worry Inoue-chan, we make sure Ichigo won’t go and kick the bucket in his sleep, isn’t that right sonny!” Isshin declares, wrapping an arm around Ichigo’s neck and ruffling his hair roughly, gaining an irritated grunt from Ichigo, who basically kicks him away, making the old man crash against the wall and then whine about how mean his son was.

Ichigo sighs irritated, while Yuzu giggles and Karin rolls her eyes at their old man and his antics.

”Uhm...I actually came to ask if you’ll be well enough to join us on that picnic we planned a while back?”

Right, Ichigo had completely forgotten about it.

They had intended to go by the lakeside for a bit of a relaxation trip, before the mission in Hueco Mundo had popped up.

”Sure, okay. Maybe tomorrow? I’m kinda tired today because of a headache.” Ichigo gives her the same explanation as he did to his family, not really wanting to tell them about the weird shit that had happened, as he was still unsure himself if it was real. In all likeness, he was just seeing things because he was so tired.

Inoue nods with a smile, telling him that she’d inform others about it.

”We’ll come and get you tomorrow.”

Ichigo nods and waves her goodbye with a smile.

Once she was gone, his smile drops and Ichigo sighs, slumping back down to his chair, holding his head as it actually had started to ache a little.

”Ichi-nii?’ Yuzu asks concerned as the boy rubs his forehead.

”I’m good. I think I gotta go back to bed, my head hurts.”

 

 

Ichigo rested a pillow over his head.

By the time he’d scrambled back up to his room and closed the curtains, his head had really begun to ache, and Karin had brought him a painkiller to help it. Right now, he was hiding under his blanket and pillows, trying to bear through the ache. It was not that surprising that he’d have a killer headache given the head injuries he’d sustained, although according to Urahara, they weren’t that bad.

Ichigo could not stop but frown at that; this whole time, he’d felt like his injuries should have been worse than they ended up being.

The ginger groans as he shifts to his back, pushing the pillow off to rub his temple.

He’d had migraines before, but this was pretty bad. Suddenly, he felt weight on him. Ichigo manages to open his eyes despite the aching, but he could not see anything. His brain was likely making shit up again.

Then, it felt almost if something wrapped around his throat, and Ichigo grasps for it in panic, but there was nothing that his fingers could reach.

Yet, it felt like a vine had wrapped around his neck, just like... just like then, back in Hueco Mundo.

Yes, he was fairly certain he'd felt this sensation before.

It did not choke him per say, but it felt unpleasant and unnerving.

Something was there, but he could not see or sense it for some reason. Ichigo’s vision starts to blister and blink unpleasantly again as his migraine gets worse, but in between that mess, he could see a figure sitting on top of him between blinks. It looked familiar, like he’d seen the figure before, but he could not make out any details, because his vision was so blurry and messy due to his migraine.

What he could tell now, was that the vine around his neck was likely the creature’s tail.

The ginger parts his lips, trying to say something, but somehow he was unable to make a sound.

It felt like sleep paralysis, except, he was not asleep, was he?

Suddenly, the being leans closer, the bright blue eyes staring down at him.

Ichigo’s heart beat rapidly in his chest, and his breathing was quick; sharp, tiny gasps of air that seemed to be caused by some form of instinct rather than conscious fear.

The blue eyes examine him quietly, a mixture of disdain and reluctant curiosity in them.

It almost felt like the creature was intrigued by him, and hated the fact it was.

Ichigo attempts to move again, and the being suddenly moves off from him and disappears, leaving Ichigo gasping for air. It was weird, because it was not like anything actually choked him, but he felt breathless.

He attempts to push himself up to see where the thing went, but a heavy weight hits his mind, and he passes out, lights dancing in his eyes.

 

 

By the time the ginger woke up, he could not recall this moment.

He only had a vague idea of seeing a dream of sorts.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo groaned as he hauled himself off the ground and into a sitting position, rubbing his back. He’d been having a match with Renji after bickering with him over something silly, and the redhead had managed to send him crashing down against the ground. It was not too surprising, given they were often pretty closely matched, not to mention Ichigo had only been properly up on his feet for two days now.

In the end, they had to postpone their picnic for one day due to the severe headache Ichigo had suffered from the day before.

Now he was mostly fine, although still a bit tired. He also kept suffering from the feeling like he’d forgotten something, not just what had happened with the fight against the two Hollows, but some bits after that. Ichigo was not sure if he was just being paranoid or mixing up dreams and reality, so he hadn’t dared to speak about it to anyone yet.

”Earth to Ichigo, you alright?”

The ginger snaps out of his thoughts, finding Renj standing in front of him, waving a hand in front of his eyes. Once he gains Ichigo’s attention, the man smirks and tugs him off the ground.

”Ya still haven’t had enough beauty naps, princess?”

”Shaddup Renji! I was just caught off-guard, that all.”

”Like you were caught off-guard by those hollows?”

After the initial worry and relief had passed, Renji had begun to tease Ichigo about his slip up, and the ginger groans, slapping his head irritated. The redhead just laughs, rubbing his head.

”Talking about that, what are you gonna do with that blue sword?”

Ichigo blinks, surprised that Renji brought it up, then shrugs.

”Feels wrong, using someone else’s sword.”

”But it’s not like the thing got a spirit? At least that’s what Urahara said. The fact it could withstand your spiritual pressure, maybe you could use it instead of these lame practice swords you keep breaking anyway.”

Ichigo hums, turning his gaze down towards the lake shore, where Rukia was sitting with Inoue. The girls were happily chatting about something, probably a topic that made no sense, like making a window to a closet or so. Hell if he knew.

”I mean, I get you feel kinda iffy about it, but Urahara made it clear that thing’s nothing but an empty sword. As long as it doesn’t have a spirit in it, it doesn’t belong to anyone really.”

Renji pauses, a smirk appearing on his features.

“Besides, it’s about time you have a sword that doesn’t break under your bone-headedness.”

Ichigo turns to glare at Renji who snickers at him, but his snicker dies out quickly as Ichigo kicks him in the crotch, reminding him that Renji was even more dim-witted than he was. Their bickering soon turned into another childish fight, gaining an eye roll from the raven haired girl who glanced up at them.

”It’s good to see Kurosaki-kun is feeling better.” Inoue smiles awkwardly, gaining a huff from Rukia.

”Truly, I don’t know which one of them is more hard-headed.”

The orange haired girl giggles a bit, before taking a bite from her weird lunch - a banana spinach broccoli sandwich, nobody knew how she could digest her own cooking - and turning her gaze back at the lake.

”I’m just glad you all are okay...it sounded so badly at first, the shape Kurosaki-kun was in.”

Rukia glances at her friend sympathetic, feeling bad that Inoue had to first hear about the rumors regarding to Ichigo’s condition, instead of hearing the truth from those treating him. She had really gotten worried, and according to Tatsuki the girl had almost ran off from their medic-class to aid Ichigo, even though he did not actually need her high-level healing skill.

She had only calmed down once Renji and Rukia had shown up and reassured her Ichigo was okay.

In the end, the girl had to go and check on him herself though.

Learning about his headache from day before had worried Inoue a lot, as according to Isshin, Ichigo had barely been able to come out of his room that day. It was not new for him to have an occasional migraine, but this case was definitely bad. The fact Ichigo had been completely fine the next day, it was a little strange. Or he was still hurting, but pretended to be fine for the sake of his friends.

Rukia did not put that above Ichigo, he would probably do that.

”Still though...Ichigo has not slept well clearly. I wonder if whatever happened there before we found him...”

Rukia cuts herself off, unsure on what exactly she meant.

Inoue hums with an agreeing nod, she sensed something was off as well, but the girl could not put a finger on it either.

In truth, neither of the girls really knew how to ask him about it however, or if Ichigo himself was even aware of it.

Inoue glances up the hill again, noting the boys had finished their fight. Perhaps she should ask him later this evening, when they were supposed to head for the flower festival later that week as was their tradition.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo was not too keen on going as he honestly felt exhausted, but it was a yearly event he had not really missed even once, aside from that one time.... Ichigo shakes his head to stop thinking about these broody things, and allowed his sisters to drag him to the festival.

It was pretty, granted, with all the flowers and lanterns decorating the stalls, and the colorful kimonos and other traditional clothing the women wore. Kids were running around, their parents chasing after them at times, and he was surrounded by laughter and music from all angles.

The food tasted good too, but Ichigo just wasn’t feeling it.

While his sisters head out to play the festival games, he walks to the nearby bridge and leans against the railing, gazing his reflection from the water.

Ichigo sighs and rubs his eyes.

Shit, he was so tired, and he did not know why. It was unusual for him to still be exhausted after a mission, even if he'd been injured.

Just like his severe migraine from few days back honestly; it had been so sudden and disappeared as quickly.

Urahara had even come and checked on him, but had not found any injuries in his head. He’d figured it was just some sort of concussion aftermath from his mission, although it sounded like a shitty explanation, given there was no way that would not have happened sooner then.

It was clear Urahara seemed to have an actual clue on what was going on, but for some reason he was not sharing it with Ichigo.

Suddenly, a hand lands on his shoulder and Ichigo jumps, finding Inoue standing beside him in a pink and red kimono. Her hair was held up in a stylized manner, and there was a flower in them as well. She looked pretty, though her concerned expression was what got his attention.

”Are you okay?”

”Yeah, just a lil tired, that all.” Inoue glances aside for a second, and then brushes the few loose strands of hair aside uncertain.

”Maybe you should talk to Urahara-san about your exhaustion. Or Unohana-san.”

Ichigo shakes his head and reassures her he was fine.

”Urahara already checked me during my migraine and found nothing wrong. It’s just aftermath from Hueco Mundo.”

The ginger attempts to reassure the girl, although it was pretty clear his words weren't working, as she kept looking at him unsure. Ichigo really wanted to make her stop worrying, but he didn’t really have proper words to offer her. He did not know what was going on, either. He did not believe a word Urahara had told him, and the fact he seemed to have slight...holes in his memory was worrisome as well.

”...Renji-kun is taking part on the final show of the festival; it starts soon so maybe we should go see it.”

Inoue suddenly states, looking at him shyly. Ichigo nods after a moment and tells her to go ahead.

”I’ll be right there.”

After a moment of hesitation, the girl nods and heads towards the festival center where the show was kept. Ichigo watches her disappear to the crowd and sighs again, turning his attention back to his reflection. It was a cloudless sky, so the full moon was bright and clearly reflected on the water surface as well. The moment felt almost serene, with the sounds of the festival as a more distant background noise.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through the area, disturbing the lake surface and making aichigo shiver.

As he looks back down at the water, his heart freezes.

There was .....a figure standing behind him, or rather, standing on the railing opposite from the one he was leaning on.

The moon was right behind it so the presence was shadowed, only the intensely blue eyes glinting from the dark mass.

The figure looked like a large feline standing on its hind legs, only it had human arms.

Ichigo whips around, but there was nothing there.

His heart beating fast, he glances back down the water.

Nothing, his reflection was normal.

The ginger swallows down hard, his hand brushing his throat subconsciously. There was nothing there, but he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

Ichigo shakes his head and decides to head back to the crowd, suddenly feeling uneasy about being out in the open alone.

 

 

In the end, the final show was bit of a mess, as Renji ended up stumbling and accidentally lighting himself on fire, thus rolling around in the ground to turn it off. No one really minded however, as it was funny to watch, and most seemed to think it was part of the show. Commoners did not know how clumsy Renji actually was; they always seemed to think someone in the ranks of a Shinigami could not be this awful with his feet.

Ichigo could bet that the headlines for the Shinigami paper next morning that Rangiku published and photographed for would focus primarily on Renji’s awkward stumbling, a thought that clearly horrified the redhead, as he pretty much tried to sneak away from the scene before Rangiku could photograph him any further.

Ichigo had forgotten about his strange vision from earlier on by the time he’d been laughing his ass off at Renji’s clumsiness, but as he headed towards his home with his family and Inoue - she lived nearby - his face began to morph back into a frown.

That figure....Ichigo was fairly certain he’d seen it before, in his dreams perhaps.

Who, or what was it?

”Ichigo?”

The ginger glances at Inoue, who was again looking at him concerned.

”I’m fine, just; I hope Renji doesn’t beat himself up too much about that, it was funny.” The young man offers with a laugh, and Inoue smiles a bit too, although her smile was more forced and awkward.

She was clearly still concerned, but did not know how to voice it out. Ichigo sighs and turns to his dad, informing him that he’d escort Inoue home.

”That is my son! A true gentleman!” Isshin laughs and ruffles his hair, gaining an eyeroll from Karin and a giggle from Yuzu.

Ichigo watches the trio head back to their villa, before turning to the street that led to Inoue’s house. They walk in silence with Inoue constantly pushing the escaping curls of hair off her face nervously. Ichigo keeps his gaze aside too, not really knowing what to say.

”Ichigo...if something is bothering you, you can talk to us, you know?”

She finally mutters out, glancing at the ginger male beside her. Ichigo sighs and stops as they reach her door, turning to look at her.

”Believe me, I would tell you if I had answers. I’m still sort of trying to figure it out myself.”

”Oh...”

Ichigo reaches out to squeeze her shoulder, gaining a slight blush from the girl.

”I promise, if something bad happens, I’ll tell you, okay?”

After a moment of silence, Inoue nods.

”Good night, Kurosaki-kun.”

”Night, Inoue.”

Ichigo waits until she is safely back inside her house, before heading back to his own home.

As he walked across the quiet, empty street, Ichigo could not stop but feel like something was following him.

He glances towards the woods, but saw nothing there.

The lights in nearby homes were also out, as people were already in bed in all likeness. Ichigo shakes his head and fastens his pace; there was no point in getting paranoid. As he walks however, the feeling persists, and Ichigo stops again, looking around tensely.

Then, as he looks up, there it was again.

That strange, feline creature was standing on the roof of a nearby house, moonlight glowing behind it and shadowing its features like last time.

The blue eyes stared right at him, and Ichigo swallowed down nervously, glancing aside, then back at it.

It was gone, _again_.

The second he looked away, it disappeared.

Ichigo backs away, and then quickly turns to head home as quickly as he could. Perhaps he should talk to Urahara about these visions after all, this could not be just some sort of battle-aftermath; Hueco Mundo did have its effects on people who ventured there, but hallucinations had never been one of them.

Once he reached home, his sisters had already gone to bed as it was really late.

Isshin lifts eyebrow at his slightly pale face, asking if he was okay.

Ichigo just shakes his head and informs the old man he was fine, heading upstairs to his room. He closes the door behind him and leans his forehead against it with a sigh.

It was late, there was no point in going to Urahara tonight; he could go and talk to the man about this tomorrow.

He switches away from his celebratory clothing to his pajamas - which really looked like a miniature shinigami outfit with shorter sleeves and hem, as well as lighter canvas - and slumps to his bed, gazing at the ceiling. He brushes some of his orange locks off his face, figuring he’d _really_ have to get a haircut soon, before turning his gaze towards his window.

Seeing the moon from his window, Ichigo half expected to witness the thing stalking him again, but everything remained normal.

After a moment, he tugs the curtains in front of the window before settling back to his bed, tugging the covers over him and closes his eyes in order to get some sleep. It was not easy to fall asleep, not when a slight bit of unease kept tickling in his gut constantly, but he somehow manages to do it, not noticing the figure sitting in the shadowy corner, watching him as he slept.

 

 

 

 

_The kid was clearly having issues with his energy._

_While they seemed to match in a strange level, their spiritual pressures were still highly opposites in basic nature, so it was no wonder the shinigami fledgling was having trouble sleeping and suffered from headaches. Having grabbed his soul and forced the little shithead to bend under his will briefly likely did a number to him as well, though it wasn't as bad as it could be, given the ginger had been pretty much out of it for majority of that time._

_Had he been awake and kept resisting, the damage could have been worse._

_The fact the kid could actually see him at times was peculiar, as it also hinted that their spiritual energies seemed to complement each other somehow. It was easier to sense and use energy that was similar to your own._ _Probably also one of the reasons why the kid was having less issues about his little possession spree, than he had expected._

_It was kind of fun and annoying the same time._

_He loved freaking the kid out, but the same time, he loathed the idea that his soul seemed to match with a fucking **Shinigami.**_

_Not to mention, if these fuckers were to discover his presence, they’d likely try ta kill him. Just like that bastard had tried back then._

_He shudders and curls up a little in the corner, trying to force back the memory._

_He didn’t wanna think about it, not now._

_Not when he was finally out of that damn place and could actually leave his confinements, even if he had to be stuck with a fucking shinigami, unable to venture too far from the kid. At least the boy was fun to mess with, taking the edge out of years of loneliness._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I already had this second chapter written out as well, and figured might as well post it.   
> Boy, maybe you should not go and pick up random objects from the ground, Ichi-berry.


	3. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo still suffers from extreme exhaustion, and he is slowly growing more and more convinced that the so-called soulless blade is NOT in fact without a spirit after all.

 ”What brings you here this early?”

Urahara questions Ichigo, who’d appeared on his door just few moments ago; it was around eight in the morning, not a typical time for Kurosaki to visit him. Especially not when he looked as exhausted as he did; the poor young man looked like he had not slept properly in weeks, even though it had only been just few days. He insisted he was fine however, so the man did not inquire further into his tired state, for now anyway.

Instead, he offers the boy tea.

Ichigo sighs as he accepts the offered drink, and sits down to the table.

”I need to talk with you.”

Urahara nods as he sits down, gesturing the young man to go on.

”....Are you certain that blade has no spirit in it?”

The man tilts his head, examining Ichigo from behind his fan.

”Why are you asking such a question?”

The ginger rubs his eyes, taking a sip from his tea and nearly burning his tongue as it was still too hot.

”I....I think I’ve been seeing weird dreams. I just feel like I’m constantly being watched, plus...”

Ichigo bites his lip unsure, thinking back at what he’d seen during festival. He wasn’t sure how to explain it, as even now he questioned whenever what he’d seen had been true or just some sort of hallucination born out of his unusually tired state. Ichigo figures he should just get to the point, as there was no reason not to. 

”Last evening, I saw something.”

Urahara lifts eyebrow, listening closely to what the young man had to say.

”At least, I think I did. There was this... creature following me. It kinda looked like a feline of sorts, except it also had human arms, and stood upright...”

Ichigo sighs and rubs his eyes, realizing slowly how crazy his words sounded, even by Shinigami standards, and spiritually adept people like them dealt with some weird shit at times.

”Did you sense any sort of presence before you saw it?”

”Not...exactly. I just felt like I was being followed. I did not sense any sort of spiritual aura, if that’s what you mean.”

Urahara hums, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Ichigo’s words probably sounded a little crazy, especially if he did not actually sense anything. Every living being with a soul emitted an aura of sorts. Humans, animals, plants, anything one considered truly living. If one could not sense anything from what they saw, chances were it wasn’t real.

Sure, there were techniques used to mask one’s aura, but usually it meant merging yours with the surroundings, camouflaging it so to say, not hiding it away like it didn’t exist.

”Does the figure remind you of something you’ve seen before?”

Ichigo looks at him confused, not understanding the question at first.

”So are you saying I might be hallucinating because of some sort of trauma reaction or so?”

Ichigo questions Urahara with a slight frown, who just shrugs, informing him that it was good for them to consider all options.

”No, I’ve never seen anything like that before. I would remember if I had.” Ichigo shudders a little in his skin, as he recalls the intense blue eyes staring down at him.

Yep, there was no way he’d forget a glare like _that._

”Perhaps it is subconscious memory.”

”Why would something like that suddenly pop up now?” Ichigo groans irritated, and the man holds his hands up in a calming manner, before picking up his tea as well and drinking it.

”This was the first time you almost died during a mission. It is bound to have traumatic effects.”

Yeah, that made sense, except Ichigo did not buy it.

”Why would I start imagining a random cat-like creature stalking me?”

”Our minds sometimes work in weird ways.” Urahara comments diplomatically, taking another sip from his tea.

Ichigo sighs and drinks his too, as it no longer was too hot. The trauma part made sense, having hallucinations could also sort of be believable given how exhausted and paranoid he felt, but the things he actually SAW did not fit this theory at all. Ichigo had never been afraid of cats, he liked them, and he liked most fluffy animals like most people did.

”....I suppose I understand why you want to think it is because of the sword you found; it seems like quite a coincidence.”

Ichigo huffs and looks at him, placing the teacup back to the table.

”Are you _absolutely certain_ the blade is empty?” He really wanted a direct answer to his question for once, as these strange occurences were really driving him crazy.

Urahara remains quiet, his hat shadowing his eyes as per usual.

Finally, he opens his fan again and hides his face behind it.

”As certain as I can be at this point.”

That reply could mean almost anything, and Ichigo glares at him irritated; why couldn't this guy just be directly honest for once in his life?

”If you do keep seeing this...presence again, I can examine the sword again if you wish so. I recommend talking to someone in the medic center too though, in case this is trauma based.”

Urahara hurries to reassure him, and after a moment of silence, Ichigo nods with a sigh, glancing at the clock; he should be heading out to the HQ soon, as he’d promised to go and give his side of the story to their two heads, Ukitake and Kyoraku-san.

He had not done it yet due to his migraines and exhaustion, but now Ichigo felt well enough to head out there, that was also the reason why he’d come to see Urahara so early; best time to catch up with their two leaders was in the morning, as later on they would likely be highly busy.

It was not that he had much to say though; Ichigo still couldn’t remember much.

With a sigh, he drinks the rest of the tea and thanks Urahara for it, before heading out; there was no point in questioning the man further, as when Urahara decided you did not need to know something, he would not tell you, no matter how annoying that could be.

 

 

The sand blond haired man watches after him in a deep thought.

He believed that the boy had witnessed _something_ , but what he’d described the man... it didn’t make much sense.

To be exact, the creature Kurosaki had apparently seen did not make sense, for several reasons. It did not fit the theory he had. Then again, the theory had been ludicrous in the first place; no zanpakuto spirit survived without their owner, given they were literal pieces of their master's soul.

Urahara closes the door and walks on his office, sitting down on his chair and folding the fan, as he reads through the reports and data on his desk.

”I wonder.... what exactly did you see, Kurosaki-san, what happened to you in Hueco Mundo?”

If what he began to think was true, this could turn out to be an even bigger deal than anyone could have imagined.

The man sighs and gets up, deciding to head for the library to check on some details.

 

 

 

”So you cannot remember much?”

Ukitake questions the young man with a slight concerned look, gaining a nod from Ichigo.

”I must’ve hit my head pretty bad somehow I suppose.”

The young man states with a shrug, not really wanting to talk about the strange things that had happened around this mission to his superior. Ukitake was already relatively sick, and he worried greatly for his subordinates; having him grow worried over Ichigo as well would just make his health worse.

”I see...I suppose there isn’t much we can do about it. We just have to wait until you remember.”

His companion, pink-kimono wearing man comments, having crossed his arms.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun; now I recommend you go and rest some more, you seem extremely exhausted." Ukitake advices him with his usual gentle tone, and ichigo nods, informing the man he was planning to do exactly that in all likeness. ichigo really did feel like he still needed a nap, which was starting to be annoying.

Kyoraku smiles at him too, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Or eye, as the man wore an eyepatch.

”Say hi to your little sisters from us.”

Kyoraku states cheerfully, making Ichigo want to roll his eyes. The man was known to be both a ladies-man, and he also had a soft spot for little girls. Not that way, just in general. He was just always nicer to girls and stricter with boys, that was the point.

”I’ll let them know.” Ichigo comments with a chuckle and heads out of the room after bowing them goodbye.

Once outside of the main building, Ichigo leans against a wall with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. Why was he so tired constantly now? it felt almost like something was bleeding his energy out of his body or something, it was weird and unnerving.

”Ichigo!”

The ginger is startled out from is thoughts, and he turns towards the voice, finding the baldie and Yumichika head his way.

”Good ta see you up and about again!” Ikkaku laughs and pats his back roughly as Ichigo leaves the wall to greet them.

The two young men belonged to another division and were both more experienced than Ichigo, though they sometimes acted like rookies, especially Ikkaku with his temper. ”Yeah, well, can’t stay bedridden forever. People still need us.”

”Your sense of duty is admirable, Kurosaki.”

Yumichika comments with a calm smile, clearly rolling his eyes inwardly at Ikkaku’s behavior.

”Hey, is it true that you found some weird shinigami sword from Hueco Mundo?”

Ikkaku suddenly asks curiously, and Ichigo is taken aback, unsure on how to reply. After a moment he just nods and rubs his head awkwardly.

”Yeah...Urahara-san seems to think it is a Zanpakuto that never received its spirit.”

Both men lift eyebrow in unison at that.

”How...unfortunate. So the user perished before he could go trough the ritual?” Yumichika ponders, holding his chin.

”I guess so.” Ichigo states with a shrug.

Honestly, he was unsure if the blade truly was empty, but he had no proper proof about his suspicions.

”Did Urahara-san figure out who’s it was?”

Ichigo shakes his head again, informing Yumichika that so far the man had not found any markings about the blade or its owner.

”That is peculiar indeed. Perhaps the owner was not submitted into the records because his zanpakuto did not receive the spirit before the owner died.”

It was clear this mystery interested Yumichika, and he was more talking to himself than the two. Ikkaku on the other hand did not seem as enthusiastic about pondering this thing, and just snorts, digging his ear with a bored look.

”Doubt the guy was much of use if he died even before he got his spirit.”

”Why yes, you only are interested if the person is strong. Such brutish behavior.”

_”What did you say?!”_

Ichigo watches awkwardly as the two start to bicker, and then decides to slink away from the scene, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

 

 

As Ichigo arrives home, he notes the house was empty; his dad was likely on an assignment on the medical wing, and his sisters were still in school.

He walks upstairs to his room, not really knowing what to do right now.

He had not received any further orders from their two heads, aside from Ukitake’s recommendation to rest a bit more as he still looked so tired. Ichigo sighs and slumps to his bed, leaning his head against the wall. He hated twiddling his thumbs, but the same time it was pretty clear his brain was too mushy still for him to be of much use.

His eyes drift back at the mystery sword on his table.

After a moment of silence, Ichigo reaches for it cautiously, and examines it once again.

He focuses hard, but could not sense any energy from within it.

By all means, this blade was nothing but a piece of well-made weaponry.

Still though...

”Is there really nothing in you?”

He muses out loud, turning the blade in his hands, brushing his fingers over the panther carving. Really, one would think Urahara would have quickly found the owner of such a zanpakuto, as majority of folk did not carve theirs like this. Ichigo sighs and shakes his head; what was he doing, talking to a soulless blade?

Suddenly, a familiar feeling wash over him and Ichigo instantly turns his gaze towards his window.

The weather was cloudy today, so it was darker than it should be. He gets up and walks to the window, blade still in hand. No question about it, somewhere nearby was a hollow, and Ichigo pushes his window open to scan the surroundings with his sixth sense.

There, a fairly strong one, and it was... heading towards the area Inoue lived in.

Ichigo’s eyes widen in worry, and he pushes aside his exhaustion for now, dashing downstairs.

He puts the blue blade into his belt subconsciously, forgetting it was not his practice sword.

 

Sure, Inoue probably wasn’t home, but in all likeness there were other people in that area that could be in danger. Given this was relatively remote location from the Seireitei center; he was likely the closest Shinigami around right now when dad was not home. Ichigo rushes towards the direction he sensed the hollow was in.

Moments later, he hears a loud noise from ahead of him, and bunch of people run away towards him screaming. Seconds later, a large flying hollow flies up, holding something in its claws. Ichigo’s heart skips a beat; it was a small child, a boy whose mother was screaming hysterically outside her own home, injured and pointing at the thing.

Ichigo doesn’t hesitate one moment, as he quickly leaps into the rooftops and runs after the thing, who was clearly attempting to flee back into his dimension to enjoy his meal in peace. This was tricky, as shooting the hollow down could injure the child.

He’d have to make the thing let go of the boy before dealing with it.

Ichigo follows the thing above the forest, then quickly launches himself in the air, aiming and slicing off the creature’s leg, making it screech in pain and let go of the boy, whom Ichigo quickly snatches into his lap and heads to land on a nearby tree branch. The branch sways but supports their weight, and Ichigo looks down at the young boy, who was looking up at him teary eyed. Poor thing was clearly highly terrified right now, and his expression reminded Ichigo of how he'd been back when he saw a Hollow for the first time.

He slaps himself mentally; this was not the time to have his thoughts wander, dammit!

”It’s okay, I got this.”

Ichigo shushes the boy, and then quickly jumps aside with him as the bird-like hollows dives at them with a fierce scream, ripping the thick branch they’d stood upon clean off from the three.

Ichigo lands to the ground and puts the boy down, telling him to quickly hurry back to his mother, pointing towards the town that was visible from the forest edge. The kid nods after a moment and quickly sprints away, leaving Ichigo alone to deal with the flying beast.

The thing charges at him again, and Ichigo dodges it, swinging his blade and managing to scratch the side of the thing, making it shriek and back away from Ichigo, eyeing him cautiously now from the tree branch it sat on. Ichigo held the blade in front of him firmly, preparing to launch a spiritual pressure attack like before.

However, nothing happens as he swings the blade, and Ichigo looks down at it confused.

That’s when he finally realizes, that what he was holding was not a training sword, but the mystery, ownerless zanpakuto.

Even if it wasn’t his though, an empty one should be able to channel his spiritual energy, Ichigo was certain he’d done it before even if he couldn’t really remember it.

”Shit, why _isn’t_ this thing working now?”

Ichigo curses and jumps out of the way as the thing aims its sharp beak towards him and dives down, poking a deep hole on the spot Ichigo had previously stood on. The ginger brings the blade up just as the thing pulls it’s head out of the ground, and tries to skewer him again and again, basically using the long sharp beak as a sword.

”Well this is new, sword-fighting a giant chicken.” Ichigo could not stop but smirk at the absurdity of that comment.

The hollow forces him to back away, up until Ichigo realizes that he was nailed between the thing and a tree. He quickly dives out of the way, as the thing pierces trough the three, now stuck from his beak. The thing attempts to pull itself off, clearly having no luck. Ichigo quickly takes the opportunity and raises his sword, dealing the final blow to the thing’s mask, cracking it.

The Hollow shrieks once again, before its body slumps to the ground, head still stuck on the tree from its beak.

Moments later, it turns into golden dust, like most hollows that died in human realm. They only really left bloody corpses in Hueco Mundo.

 

Ichigo breathes out, feeling victorious from the fight.

Then, a wave of dizziness hits him, and he has to lean against the tree to gather his bearings. it seemed that his exhaustion was getting to him again; he'd forgotten about it in the heat of the battle, but now it was pressing heavily on him again.

A second later, Ichigo suddenly senses something else nearby, but before the young shinigami could react, something big slams into him, and he flies across the ground, cartwheeling around like a rag-doll until he hit a tree, which halted his movement. Ichigo looks up dazed, finding a giant, gorilla-like monster standing in the spot he’d been. How the hell had he been sneak-attacked by something this big?

For his horror, the ginger also realizes he’d dropped the sword, which was now lying on the ground near the spot the hollow stood.

Before Ichigo could react, the thing leaps towards him, and he rolls out of the way, making the monster crush the tree behind him instead.

Ichigo manages to get up and hurries towards the sword, but the giant hollow grabs his leg and throws him against another tree, making Ichigo cough out blood at the impact. Crap, being sneak-attacked so soon after the last time was embarrassing.

Ichigo did not have much time to contemplate on this detail however, as the giant runs towards him.

Why hadn’t any other Shinigami shown up yet?

Surely they should have noticed this big one already.

The ginger dodges another giant punch aimed at him by a hairs breath, and dashes to the sword, managing to grab it and bring it up to block the punch aimed at him. This was like a deja vu, and Ichigo suddenly recalled vividly, that he had been held in this position before; that hollow he’d fought had had him pinned like this, except he’d been trying to bite his head off.

After that...what had he done again?

The hollow growls at him and raises his other hand, attempting to punch him again.

Except, the blade starts glowing blue again, and Ichigo felt a familiar sensation as a foreign energy entered his body.

A split second later, a large pressure wave escapes from the blade, throwing the hollow off him. The ginger gasps and then lets out a groan, grasping his head as he felt the aura emanating from the blue sword turn oppressive, as if somebody was literally grasping his mind.

Yes, this had happened last time.

After the sword had thrown the Hollow off him, something had...

Something had attempted to take him over.

”Get out!”

Ichigo hisses at the presence, clutching his head.

There was a low growl in the air again, exactly like last time.

Suddenly, a shadow heads his way, and Ichigo barely manages to roll out of the way as the giant fist lands to the ground, clearly having been aimed to crush his head.

 

_Yer bein’ pathetic; this one is weak, yet yer struggling like a fuckin’ toddler. Watching this is making me sick so I might as well fucking deal with it, when you can't._

 

There was that voice again, and it sounded annoyed, momentarily increasing the pressure in Ichigo’s mind.

Whatever it was, it clearly wanted to get rid of this gorilla like hollow ASAP, and apparently Ichigo’s performance wasn’t cutting it.

The ginger resists the oppressive presence however, biting his lip and drawing out blood in the process.

”I..Don’t know who you are, but...stop. I _can’t_...do my job, if I have to...”

he coughs out more blood, as the weight on his mind starts to become too much to bear. The fact he was tired did not make the job of resisting a possession attempt any easier.

The hollow watches him confused now, tilting its giant head, likely wondering to whom he was talking to.

 

_Tsch. Fine, I'll give ya a hand. Just don't fucking disappoint me again, Shinigami._

 

The oppressive presence disappears slowly, and Ichigo takes in a deep breath, attempting to calm himself.

He could now feel the blade cooperate again for some reason, and energy was entering his body like last time, revitalizing him slowly.

Ichigo quickly slashes the air, and a large blast of energy leaves the sword, hitting the gorilla monster square in the chest. The energy was glowing golden again, as if whatever presence that had initially entered his body was simply letting him channel his own spiritual pressure, instead of feeding him its own.

The being that spoke to him seemed to be able to access the reserves Ichigo had, and unlock them for his use somehow.

Ichigo had no clue what was going on, but he had to defeat this thing before it headed for the villagers.

The young man jumps forward, dodging a punch thrown at him by jumping at the fist and using it as a leverage to further increase his momentum.

He aims a hard strike at the thing’s head, and the mask breaks with one shot - it surprises Ichigo, as he was used to it needing more than one hit for ones this big - and the giant beast stumbles to the ground, groaning one last time before it stopped moving, and eventually turned to dust.

Ichigo remains cautious and looks around, not wanting to be jumped at again.

 

There was a slight, purring sound echoing in his brain, and it was really creepy, making his hair stand to an end.

 

_Good boy._

 

Ichigo could hear something heading his way now, and he turns around quickly to see what it was.

Instead of monsters, he sees Inoue and couple of villagers heading his way. Ichigo relaxes the best he could and smiles, informing them that the monsters were gone. The mother and his kidnapped child also came to him, and the woman thanked him profusely, hugging him and kissing his cheek.

It was awkward, but Ichigo did not refuse it as it would have been rude.

”Really, I was just doing my job ma’am.”

Ichigo informs her as she finally let’s go, and he turns to face Inoue, who was looking at him with a relieved smile.

The ginger was about to say something, when a dizzy spell hits him again, and he slumps to the ground, blacking out in a matter of seconds.

Amongst the crowd around him, the last thing he spotted was a pair of intensely blue eyes looking down at him next to the hand that still held onto the sword.

 

 

 

”So he just fainted?”

Urahara inquiries from the girl who had frantically ran to his house after the villagers brought the young man to her house, and begged him to come and see Ichigo. There were no physical injuries on Ichigo that she wasn’t able to heal, but he still hadn’t woken up, and it had been hours since.

”Yes! He managed to defeat the hollow that snatched the poor little boy, and then when we got to him, he... he seemed fine at first, but then...I mean, he has been really tired lately, but I didn't think...”

Urahara reassures the panicking girl, telling her to remember to breathe. He then turns and examines the figure resting on her couch.

Indeed, Kurosaki seemed physically fine aside from the bags under his eyes, but something about his aura felt off, and that concerned him much more than any physical injury ever would.

It was flickering in a strange manner, as if something was stirring it, like a spoon stirring tea on a teacup.

Like something was slightly merged with Kurosaki’s spiritual aura, and this strange resonance between his own and the foreign energy was causing some issues. Perhaps it was the reason behind Kurosaki's headaches, dreams, and constant exhaustion.

Urahara had only seen something like this happen once before, and it was a bad sign.

Except, the situation was different from that time.

There were no signs that a hollow had actually injured him fatally, like what had happened back then.

Even when Kurosaki had returned from Hueco Mundo, his injuries had been relatively minor despite all the blood.

His eyes drift towards the blue Zanpakuto that rested on the coffee table. It felt as harmless as usual, no hint of spiritual pressure in it. Yet...Urahara had his suspicions, suspicions that he was not ready to call confirmed just yet.

”It is rather peculiar, that nobody noticed those two hollows approaching the village, not until Kurosaki-san did.” Urahara comments after a moment of silence, because it was indeed strange.

While it was true Ichigo had been the only shinigami close by at that moment, the fact remained that nobody, not even Urahara, had sensed those two until Ichigo was fighting the creatures. It was unusual and alarming.

”What should we do now?” Inoue asks her voice still slightly shaky.

”....I think it’s better if he stays here for now. No need to worry his family about what happened. I’ll just tell them that he decided to stay in patrol in your house in case more hollows show up, as this attack was relatively close to your home.”

Inoue bites her lip and looks at Ichigo with a concerned frown, then nods, releasing a deep sigh.

”Should we tell Rukia and Renji about this though? Rukia-chan might stop by tomorrow...”

”If he is still asleep when she does come by, tell Kuchiki-san about what happened, but otherwise we should just wait and see how this situation develops, as I am still not quite certain about what is going on.”

The young girl nods, still looking at the unconscious young man concerned.

 

 

 

 

_Ichigo was dreaming, he was fairly sure about it._

_He was standing in the middle of a large room, the same one he’d fought against Shrieker and that other hollow in._

_Except, it looked different, which is why he believed it was a dream; there were no signs of battle damage in it, and the images on the walls were intact, but they were all swirly and blurry, as if this was a memory someone could not recall properly._

_Ichigo had a strange feeling that something weird was going on in this dream._

_As if he was not supposed to be here, whatever this place was._

_A chill travels down his spine, and he turns around slowly, soon realizing he was not alone._

_A figure stood at the doorway that led to the pillar room._

_Blue eyes stare at him from darkness again, and Ichigo felt his breathing turn quicker, as that same, primal instinct began to take over his body, warning him of some sort of danger._

_Suddenly, the figure was right on him, and Ichigo feels a strong hand grasp his throat, throwing him against a wall. It did not hurt, strangely enough, but it made him dizzy._

_Before he could gather his bearings, his attacker is on him again, a clawed hand pinning his wrists above his head._

_The creature’s tail wraps around his throat again like a bony snake._

_He still could not make out proper features as it was dark, but Ichigo was fairly certain about one thing; unlike hollows, this being clearly had a human face despite having hollow-like traits to him._

_The blue eyes examine him again, the sharp claws digging into the flesh of his wrists._

_It did not hurt again, but he soon could feel something drip down his arms, as the black claws had actually punctured trough his skin somewhat._

_Ichigo attempts to speak, but that’s when the tail wrapped around him tightens, making him gasp for air._

_The being growls at him lowly, flashing the white fangs to the slightly terrified young shinigami._

_”Just ’cause I helped yer sorry ass out, don’t mean you can just walk in here. **Get the fuck out!** ” _

_He sounded....offended?_

_The creature throws him aside again, except this time he doesn’t collide with anything; instead, it feels like he hurls through the air for an eternity, until everything goes black._

 

As the ginger snaps awake, he finds himself resting on Orihime’s couch, a blanket over his body, with the girl sleeping on the arm hair beside him, book in her lap.

Glancing around, it was clearly night-time still. Likely they had brought him to Inoue's house, and the girl had been waiting for him to wake up, only for her to fall asleep instead.

Ichigo pushes himself up slowly, rubbing his forehead.

As the events from earlier slowly start to return into his mind, Ichigo turns his gaze towards the blade resting on the coffee table.

There was no doubt in his mind now, Urahara was wrong.

That thing definitely had a spirit in it, it was just well hidden.

 

 

_He was still reeling._

**_How dared that kid to show up in this place uninvited?_ **

_It pissed him off; he did not want the kid anywhere NEAR his core._

_The brat should know how it felt; he’d done that to him when taking control over his body to teach that cocky asshole a lesson._

_He paces around in frustration, and then destroys the pillar nearest to him._

_It did not matter, he could take down every single wall on this place, and all of it would just grow back._

_He had done it a couple of times in the past, when still attempting to escape his prison. Now, he could go out, but only so far; his soul would always be dragged back to wherever the kid was._

_To be exact, wherever the zanpakuto the bastard currently possessed was._

_**His zanpakuto**._

_It pissed him off even more, the fact that some shinigami brat was using his weapon in a battle, and that he kept doing it relatively poorly. He'd sensed the big fucker approaching them long before the shinigami did and he could  not comprehend how the hell the kid had missed it._

_That was the main reason he had tried to take control over the shithead, but he’d stopped once he realized that it would not be so easy when the kid was awake._

_He’d just get the brat killed, and it just wasn't as satisfactory when he couldn't do it physically with his own hands. He was not a mind-fucker in the same sense some of his companions had been. Plus, he irritatingly felt like he owed the ginger kid one, for releasing him partially from the bindings put into his soul all those years ago. The kicker was, the bastard likely had no clue he'd done it, nor how he'd pulled it off in the first place._

_Perhaps he did not have to feel indebted after all, if the person helping him had done so unintentionally._

_Another frustrated growl escaped his throat, and another wall was taken down, blasted to dust by a glowing red light._

_Even if he could leave this dimensional prison he was in, he still felt trapped by his circumstances._

_He was, to an extend._

_Putting a beast like him to a cage was never a good idea, and if he ever got out, he'd show those bastard shinigamis exactly why._

_Probably starting with this kid._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter.  
> Deciding on the pacing for this one is hard, namely because the more interesting stuff I've planned is up ahead, and I don't know how quickly exactly should I head for it.  
> Also.  
> I've been thinking of maybe drawing some cover art or so for my fics, which I'd likely post on my Tumblr as I barely use it at the moment, and could do with more stuff to post there. I'm just not sure if I should bother, whenever people would be interested in seeing it or not.  
> I mean, I can draw Grimmjow fairly well, but Ichigo...I dunno about him xD


	4. Questions arising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some unusual things happen regarding to the mystery zanpakuto, and Ichigo is in for a scare of his life briefly.

That morning, Ichigo had woken up early to cook breakfast - there was no way he could eat whatever Orihime would make anyway - and she was quite surprised but also happy to see him awake.

”Sorry if I scared you; I guess I’d been more exhausted than I initially thought.” Ichigo explains once she asks how he was doing.

The girl nods after a moment with a smile, clearly relieved that it apparently wasn’t anything serious. After he was done with breakfast, Ichigo grasps the sword from the coffee table cautiously and puts it on his belt, contemplating on what to do next.

He was fairly certain that his hunch about the sword not being empty was correct, as a zanpakuto spirit could explain the voice he kept hearing.

However... it would not explain the aggression of the spirit.

He had _never_ heard of a zanpakuto spirit openly be this aggressive, let alone trying to possess the wielder against their will.

Either this meant that the owner had been incredibly crazy somehow, or this was something else.

In fact, there was this detail Ichigo just could not get over; if the sword had a spirit in it, that normally meant the owner was alive as well. If that was so, where was he or she?

Was this person trapped in Hueco Mundo somewhere?

Somehow, Ichigo doubted that.

 

 

Ichigo waves Inoue goodbye, heading back towards his home in his thoughts. What should he say to his sisters and dad about not coming home last night? They likely had been informed he was at Inoue's, but he could not be sure if those informing them had told his family just in what state Ichigo had been.

As he turns into another street, he bumps into someone, having been sunken into his thoughts. Ichigo opens his mouth to apologize, and realizes the person he’d ran across was in fact Rukia. Right, Inoue had actually mentioned while eating the breakfast he cooked that she would drop by for a visit.

”Oh, morning Ichigo! Why are you around here?”

The ginger blinks, confused. Did Rukia not know about the Hollows that had shown up?

”There were two hollows here yesterday. I stayed with Inoue just in case.”

Rukia’s eyes widen, and he stares at Ichigo in surprise, so she really didn't know about it.

”Hollows? How? Nobody sensed anything as far as I’m sure.”

”They didn’t? There was one, two in fact, and it caused quite a mess in Orihime’s street.”

What the heck was going on? Surely some other Shinigami would have sensed those two eventually. Yet, it seems that nobody in the HQ had been informed about it.

The woman frowns at that, and holds her chin thoughtfully.

”I did hear there was commotion around here yesterday, but I was not aware it was a hollow. How on earth did nobody sense them?”

Ichigo had to question that as well, for he had in fact sensed the demonic presence, at least when it came to the first one.

He had not noticed the gorilla like monster, not until it literally smacked him in the face.

What surprised Ichigo was that after they had apparently heard about the commotion, nobody had come to check it out, at least that was the impression he was getting from Rukia, as if someone had come around, she would be in the know about this given her brother was a squad captain.

Sure, this area was known to have all kinds of ruckus every now and then, although it wasn’t as bad as Rukongai in the outskirts.

Still...

”Is Inoue okay?” Rukia asks suddenly, snapping Ichigo out from his thoughts.

”Yeah; she was not even the one the things attacked, but some woman and her son.”

”Oh, that’s awful! I’m guessing the thing was trying to snatch the boy for a meal or so?”

Ichigo nods and makes a face; kids were weaker Hollows’ favorite targets because they were relatively defenseless and easy to catch.

”Let’s hope he doesn’t have to deal with such traumatic event anytime soon.”

Ichigo had to agree with that.

”Ah, this reminds me; it’s actually good that I ran into you, as Ukitake-san asked me to find you.”

Rukia exclaims suddenly, gaining a lift eyebrow from the young man.

”He wanted you to come and talk to him about something today, in case you are in a proper shape for it. Judging by the fact you took out two hollows, I’d say you are up for it.”

The woman smirks at him encouragingly and pats his shoulder, making Ichigo let out a sheepish laugh, figuring that he was.

”Well, I better go check on Inoue now, see you later, and do tell me what Ukitake-san wanted from you, if you can that is. You should probably mention him about the two hollows you fought as well, as it is unusual for nobody to have noticed them, except you apparently.”

After receiving an acknowledging nod from Ichigo, Rukia waves him bye and heads towards the direction Ichigo had come from.

The ginger watches her disappear into the towns streets and releases a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes. Perhaps he should go and see Ukitake first after all, as having their heads know about seemingly invisible hollows was pretty important.

As Ichigo takes a step forward however, he is hit by an intense wave of spiritual pressure, and the young man stumbles, leaning against a tree nearby.

He sucks in a deep breath and bites his lip, so hard he drew blood.

Ichigo recognized what this was.

It was the spirit that he was certain existed within the blade on his waist.

It was trying to take him over again.

”Stop...”

Ichigo mutters out quietly, pressing his forehead against the tree and closing his eyes, trying to resist the immense weight.

 

 

_I’m not going there, kid._

 

 

”What...do you...”

Ichigo groans lightly, as his vision was getting blurry again, and his breathing was quick and uneven. It felt like holding back a tidal wave all by yourself.

 

 

_You heard me._

 

 

Ichigo gasps for air and presses further against the tree, tasting blood in his mouth and even feeling his nose drip again.

”....Ukitake? You don’t...want me...to bring you there?”

He manages to pant out, slowly starting to understand what the spirit meant. A low growl emanates in the air, making Ichigo’s hair stand to an end.

So he was right.

Ichigo tries to push himself off the tree, but the presence kept him nailed in place, almost if a hand pressed his head against the tree bark so hard that the rough surface left an imprint on his cheek.

”Okay, Okay...p-please...stop. I’ll...bring you home first...”

He manages to wheeze out, and after a moment, the pressure disappears, allowing him to gasp out for air and step back from the tree.

His face hurt from the pressure it was held against the tree, and there were slight bloody smears on the wooden surface. There were no one in sight nearby so nobody saw what had just happened.

Ichigo sighs and wipes the blood off his face, then realizes that the presence was not entirely gone.

There was an invisible vine wrapped around his throat. It was likely the spirit’s tail.

He clearly did not trust Ichigo’s word, so he kept it around his throat, not tight enough to cut off his hair, but it was definitely uncomfortable while he breathed.

Ichigo gathers his bearings and changes directions, walking back towards his home, hand subconsciously landing on the blue blade’s hilt.

”You don’t have to do that.” Ichigo mutters, his hand brushing the invisible hold wrapped around his neck.

The only response he got was another, slight growl that seemed to come from within his own mind.

 

 

 

”Oh hey Ichigo, welcome home!”

Karin greets him once Ichigo enters their house, trying to hide his tenseness the best he could.

”Urahara-san told us you stayed with Inoue after some sort of hollow-related thing.” Karin informs him, while cleaning up the breakfast table.

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that; so Urahara had known about what happened too?

Why hadn't he informed the HQ about it, then?

”Yeah, where’s dad and Yuzu?”

”Dad didn’t come home last night; he went with Rangiku, baldie, weird-eyebrow and Toshiro-san to check on something in Rukongai. Apparently something weird happened there too yesterday.”

Oh, so his dad wasn’t in the medic center like he’d assumed.

”Yuzu is asleep, she got a flu.”

”Ah, dang. I better check on her.”

Karin nods in agreement, informing Ichigo that while he was there, he could help with the dishes now that Yuzu couldn’t.

”I would, but I just came to check on you guys, I need to head out as Ukitake san wanted to talk to me.”

The vine around his throat tightens, but Ichigo tries to hide his discomfort from his sister, who just snorts and rolls her eyes, calling him a lazy ass. The young man makes a childish face at her, before heading up to his room. Once there, Ichigo takes the sword out from his belt, and places it carefully to the cloth it was usually kept in.

Initially, the canvas was likely there because they assumed the owner was dead - a sign of respect so to say - but now... Ichigo was fairly certain the original owner was not dead, if their zanpakuto had a spirit in it.

Once he was done wrapping it to the cloth, Ichigo takes a step back, and a moment later, the unpleasant feeling around his throat dissipates.

Ichigo can finally suck in a deep breath, and he brushes trough his hair.

”Alright. I hope you’re happy now, as I have to go.”

No response, the presence was seemingly gone now.

Ichigo walks to Yuzu’s room downstairs, finding the girl curled up under a blanket, her face pale from fever.

She smiles at him regardless once he steps in.

”Morning, Ichi-nii...”

”Morning Yuzu. I’m sorry to hear you got sick.” He says and sits down to the bed, brushing trough her hair gently with a sad smile.

The girl warns him that he could get sick too if he got too close, but the ginger just rolls his eyes at her, informing his immune system was tough.

”I guess so.” Yuzu giggles, then her giggling turns to coughing, and Ichigo looks at her concerned.

”It’s okay...I’ve had a flu before. How is Inoue-chan?”

”She’s fine.”

”That hollow didn’t...”

”No, it was not her who was attacked.”

The girl looks at her with a slightly fearful look in her eyes.

”Did you defeat the monster?”

Ichigo nods and reassures her that everything was okay.

”Huh, good to know. It was so weird that nobody seemed to notice it though...dad was surprised to learn about the Hollow as well...”

Yuzu yawns, sounding sleepy, and just seconds later, she is out cold again.

Ichigo sighs and brushes trough her hair again, before tugging her further under the blanket, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

”Are you heading out now?” Karin asks as he enters the kitchen, and Ichigo nods.

Then, he notes that the girl was looking at him with a frown.

”Did you get injured in the fight?”

”Huh?”

”There’s blood on your face.”

Ichigo stiffens lightly and glances his reflection at the nearby mirror. Yeah, there were still slight staining from his nosebleed.

”I suppose I did not wipe everything away.” Ichigo shrugs, walking to the sink and getting rid of the last bits of red with the water, drying his face to a towel.

”It kinda looks like you had a nosebleed.”

Ichigo knew what she was going to say even before the smirking girl said anything.

”Or was it because of Inoue, you pervert?”

Ichigo groans and glares at her irritated.

”You know we aren’t like that! Shut up!”

The girl just snickers at him, and tells her brother to get going already. Once Ichigo heads for the door however, she notices another thing that was off.

”Aren’t you going to take your sword with you?”

Ichigo glances at her over his shoulder.

”I doubt I’ll need it. If Ukitake wants me to go for a mission, I can just come and get it.”

Karin hums and nods, sensing that her brother wasn’t telling her everything. She allows him to leave without further questions however, figuring it wasn’t really her business.

 

 

 

”You seem better now, Kurosaki-kun.” The white haired man greets him and gestures Ichigo to sit down, which he does.

Ichigo honestly doubted he was any better.

While he did not feel sleepy right now, he’d been having a nosebleed just moments earlier, being oppressed by a very aggressive zanpakuto spirit that others did not seem to be aware of existing.

”I asked Kuchiki-chan to tell you to visit me, for I wanted to talk to you about something.”

”If it is about what happened back in Hueco Mundo, I still cannot remember.” Ichigo informs the man, although it wasn’t entirely the truth; he did remember some bits, and he had deduced few other things.

However... the spirit had been highly against coming here, and Ichigo doubted it would like him telling Ukitake about its presence. Why was the thing so against being discovered anyway?

He was honestly worried for his sisters, who were alone in the Kurosaki estate with the sword and the ill-tempered spirit in it.

Though...so far it seemed the only one he could effect was Ichigo.

”Ichigo?”

The ginger shakes his head, realizing Ukitake had been talking to him.

”Ah, sorry; I guess I am still lightly tired.” Ichigo apologizes with a sheepish smile, rubbing his head awkwardly.

The man just gives him an understanding nod, before repeating what he was saying earlier.

”I called you here, because I wanted to inquire about the discovery you had apparently made in there.”

Ichigo tensed lightly; did he mean the blade?

”Apparently, you, Kuchiki and Abarai found some sort of building, correct?”

Ah, it was about the temple like place.

”Yes, I’m guessing Urahara-san told you about it.”

”Yes, I already heard the description of the place from your friends, but you apparently spent more time there, so I’d like to know what you saw. Kisuke is planning on going back to examine the area himself, but he has not had time to do so yet.”

Ichigo hums and holds his chin as he thinks back on the place.

”There was this large room. It had murals on the walls, they kind of seemed like they were deciphering... Hollows, and some figures kind of looked like Shinigamis.”

Ukitake lifts eyebrow at that curiously, nodding him to continue while he wrote something down.

”There was this big mural, though it was mostly destroyed. I don’t know what was in the middle, but the figures around it seemed to sort of..I don’t know, bow towards the center. It was weird.”

Ichigo shrugs, not really knowing how else to describe it.

”Hmm, Kuchiki-chan also mentioned the mural, but she could not remember what was on it. Did you see any other pictures?”

”Yeah, there was a figure in one pillar, that had.... sort of like captains robes I suppose? They were kinda like Shinigami uniform, but...colors were inverted and it was much more decorative I suppose?”

Ichigo frowns, thinking back on the figure he’d seen. Something was now tugging in his mind.

It felt as if... as if he’d seen that particular figure somewhere.

”I see... this is quite unusual.” Ukitake hums, holding his chin.

Ichigo could not agree more. Then, he recalled something else he was supposed to talk about.

"There was a hollow nearby our home yesterday." The white haired man looks at him surprised, as expected. Nobody really had been aware of it. 

"Two actually; they nearly kidnapped this boy, but I dealt with them."

"Huh...Another case like this."

Ichigo blinks and looks at the man confused. Ukitake smiles apologizing, and proceeds to explain what he meant.

"For the past few days, there has been several cases of hollows not being spotted right away. In fact, your father and few others went to investigate a sighting like this in Rukongai yesterday. Someone had apparently witnessed a hollow there, but no shinigami had sensed it."

So this was happening in a wider scale? That did not sound good.

"They haven't reported back yet, but I'd assume someone would have informed us if something had happened to them."

Ichigo hoped it was so; he was already concerned about leaving his sisters with the blue blade and its hidden spirit. He did not need to worry about the old man as well.

 

 

 

While the ginger was talking with his superior, Kurosaki household was relatively quiet.

Yuzu was still asleep, while Karin was slumped to the couch on her belly, reading a book. It was the weekend so she did not have school, though the girl would not have gone anyway, as someone had to stay behind and watch after Yuzu.

It was clear the old man and her brother were too busy, so she was the only one available to take that duty.

A noise from upstairs catches her attention, and the girl frowns, closing the book and inching up the stairs cautiously. Like her brother, Karin was also highly spiritually sensitive, although her skill was still on its infancy.

She could not sense anything unusual, but still...her sixth sense told her something was off.

The sound was coming from Ichigo’s room. Karin stops at the door and opens it lightly, peeking inside. Her eyes widen, as she sees what was inside.

It was a lizard-like Hollow.

How come she hadn’t sensed anything? Even if she was weaker than dad or her brother, something that was this close should be detectable even for her.

The thing was relatively small, but likely dangerous.

It held Ichigo’s new sword in its hand, clearly attempting to flee with it.

”Hey! Drop that!”

The girl yells and steps in without thinking, and the monster hisses at her, spitting acid towards the girl, who quickly dodges it by jumping aside, not wanting her face to be melted off. The creature then jumps out of the window with the sword, escaping as quickly as it could.

Karin scrambled to her feet and ran downstairs, grabbing a broom on the way and rushing after the thing.

Urahara-san had asked her brother to keep an eye on that sword; it had been weird Ichigo had left it behind, and it was apparently a stupid idea as the thing was instantly stolen. Karin runs after the creature, noting it was really fast.

It headed towards the woods, and she sprints faster, leaping and swinging her broom to smack the thing in the head. She was far too weak to even cause a crack on the mask, but the hit startled the creature enough that it dropped the blade to the ground with a hiss

”Like I’d let you get away with that!” Karin yells at the creature, which whips around and spits acid at her again, forcing the girl to retreat and hide behind a tree.

Shit, perhaps this had been a bad idea; she was nowhere near strong enough to deal with a hollow.

The fact she had not sensed the thing despite it being right in their house indicated that nobody likely knew it was around either, so there was no help coming for her anytime soon. Karin dodges and stumbles back in the open as the Hollow suddenly appears above her, trying to spit acid at her face. She quickly puts the broom between them, shoving it in the creatures mouth to keep it away.

At first it works, right up until the Hollow bites the head of her wooden weapon off, forcing the girl to back away, up until she stumbles on her own feet, falling on her butt.

”Shit!”

The hollow snarls at her, spitting the wooden pieces out of its mouth.

Then, it sounded almost like... the thing was talking?

Karin had never heard a hollow speak, although she did know stronger ones could.

It took her a while, but eventually she makes out what the creature was repeating.

**_”Thief!”_ **

Thief?

What on earth this thing was talking about?

 _It_ had tried to steal Ichigo’s sword!

Suddenly, the hollow swings its arm, and Karin scoots back quickly to avoid being skewered by the sharp claws.

Her fingers brush against the hilt of the blue sword, and she glances back at the blade. This apparently pisses the creature off further, as it screams louder, repeating that same word with it’s garbled voice.

**_”THIEF THIEF THIEF!”_ **

Karin closes her eyes and brings her arms up to protect herself as the hollow lifts its claws again, attempting to strike her again.

Before it could however, an intense spiritual aura appears behind her all of a sudden. It was so powerful, that Karin slumps to the ground, holding her head and breathing harshly. It felt like immense weight had landed on her, making it hard to move or breathe.

Her heart was also racing mile a minute. She manages to look up however, and for her shock, sees that the hollow’s attack was stopped by a glowing blue arm that was holding it’s wrist, keeping it from killing the little girl.

As she glances behind her, the girl realizes that the tall, glowing figure standing over her, it was...it looked like it came from the sword, as it stood right above it, glowing in the same color as the blade itself.

”Wh...”

Before she could voice out anything, the glowing form yanks it’s arm back, and literally _rips off the hollows arm_ , making it scream in pain and stumble backwards, spreading blood everywhere, including on Karin, who just stares at the scene in horror.

She had never seen anything or anyone be able to rip a hollow’s limb off with their bare hands.

Karin had heard stories that other hollows could do that, but...

Suddenly, she felt eyes on her, and the girl freezes, her breathing turning so fast it felt like she was hyperventilating.

The girl slowly looks up, realizing that the creature was staring down at her now.

Karin could not make out any details due to the intense glow, but she was sure it was looking at her, as the figure’s head was tilted down towards the girl.

The raven haired girl somehow manages to scramble up and back away a little, noting her breathing became easier the further away she was.

”W...w-what are you?”

She manages to stutter out, her voice surprisingly stable given the fear she felt.

The glowing figure just tilts its head, examining her quietly.

Then, it _smirks_ at her.

Despite the glow, she could make out the flash of white teeth, and the figure reaches a hand out for her.

Karin attempts to back away, but she was paralyzed by her own fear. A hand grasps her forehead and hair, and a second later, she passes out. The spiritual pressure was just too much for her to handle.

The figure lets go of her, and the girl slumps to the ground unconscious.

 

 

 

Once Ichigo arrives back home, he notes that Karin was nowhere to be seen.

He walks to Yuzu’s room, but notes she was still asleep, so the girl likely did not know where her sister had gone. s Ichigo reaches his room however, he realizes that something was off.

The sword was _gone._

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and he realizes that the window was open too; it had been closed when he’d left.

He rushes to it and looks out from it, but could not see anything or anyone. However... he could feel a trace of something. Fear grips his heart, as he realizes that the presence he felt was a hollow.

Had a hollow kidnapped Karin and taken the sword?

Ichigo dashes back downstairs, startling his other sister who’d managed to walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

She was wrapped in a blanket, and looks after her brother confused, but doesn’t have time to ask where he was going as Ichigo was out of the door in less than second.

 

How long was it since the hollow showed up in their house?

It could not have been too long given he had still sensed the traces. Still, the thing could have gone to Hueco Mundo already, and if that was the case...

Ichigo shook his head, not even wanting to consider that option.

He stops in the middle of the forest to catch his breath, trying to think rationally. Unfortunately it was hard as all he heard in his brain was silent scream of panic. This felt a lot like that time when his mum had...when that had happened. Ichigo sucks in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

_Where the hell was Karin?_

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a familiar sensation prodding into his mind.

The ginger lifts his head, and sees a figure standing further away, next to a tree.

Ichigo bites his lip, and starts walking towards the figure.

It disappears, but after a moment, Ichigo spotted it elsewhere.

The spirit was clearly ... _leading_ him somewhere.

After a while of traversing trough the woods, he finally spots something; a figure lying on the ground.

Ichigo sprints to it, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. It was Karin, and she was unconscious. There was blood on her, but it was disappearing, turning into ashes, indicating that a hollow had died there recently. A hollow had perhaps attacked her sister, but then something, or someone, had killed it.

”Karin! Wake up!” Ichigo shakes her frantically, then as he looks around, he notices that the blue blade was resting beside her.

So that’s why the spirit had led him here? Did this mean....that the spirit was the one who killed the hollow that attacked Karin?

Why was Karin unconscious?

Ichigo shakes his head, figuring this was not the right time to ask too many questions. He takes the blade and places it on his belt, before picking his sister up and heading back towards the house.

He pauses for a second however, glancing towards the sword.

”Thank you.” He whispers quietly, before continuing back to the Kurosaki estate.

 

 

_Why had he helped the brat again?_

_Sure, he did not like having a weakling, peasant hollow touch his blade, but it did not mean he had to save the girl._

_He could’ve waited till she was dead and then taken care of the fucker._

_Perhaps part of him had been a little impressed how brave the little shit was, despite her weakness. The same time though, he found her incredibly stupid. What the hell had she thought, going after a hollow when she was weak as fuck?_

_Tsch, likely it had just been his stupid sense of honor._

_He owed the brother one anyway, so he’d saved the brat’s sorry ass._

_Predictably, she’d fainted due to his aura being too powerful for her to stand._

_It was a surprise she didn’t start bleeding. Then again, she didn’t resist it like her moronic brother would._

_Talking about the ginger bastard, it had been pretty clear he would have spent hours looking for the girl if he was left to his own devices._

_So, he’d led the boy to her._

_He did not expect a thank you, nor want one._

_The fucker did it anyway._

 

 

 

Karin finally woke up hours later, near the evening, and she looked around dazed.

”Where am I?”

Ichigo breathes in a sigh of relief, squeezing her hand. He’d put her to the couch, and Yuzu was standing beside him, looking highly concerned as well. As the girl had kept sleeping, they had considered on getting someone to check on her. However, just as Ichigo had been about to leave, Karin had finally stirred.

”Back home, thank god you’re awake. What the hell happened?”

The girl frowns a bit, as she tries to remember.

”There was...this hollow. It stole your sword so I went after it.”

Ichigo frowns at that.

”Why the hell did you do that? You could have died!”

”Urahara-san asked YOU to take care of it, but since you left the thing behind, I had to do your job for you!” Karin regrets her yelling instantly and rubs her head, as it hurt pretty bad.

”I had a reason behind why I left it here.” Ichigo mutters out, more focused on worrying over Karin than arguing with her.

He was also slightly confused; why would a hollow try to steal the blade?

”The thing was really adamant about taking it. It even talked, calling me a thief over and over. It was weird.” The girl explains, rubbing her eyes.

Okay, that sounded weird indeed.

”It could talk?”

It was surprising; most hollows who showed up in human realm didn’t talk. The chatty bastards usually stayed in Hueco Mundo.

”Yeah, it could. Weird I know; there was also...” Her eyes widen and she sits up, grabbing her brother’s shoulders and shaking him.

”There was a spirit!”

”Wha?”

Karin proceeds to describe Ichigo what happened, pointing at the sword on his belt.

”I swear I saw a spirit emanating from it! But....I don’t sense anything now.” The girl frowns and examines the weapon on her brother’s belt confused. It had been such an immense aura, why couldn’t she sense anything now?

Ichigo glances at the sword too with a frown.

So, the spirit had...saved his sister as he'd thought? Why had it done so, when it was mostly hostile towards him?

What’s more, how was it able to do this when a wielder wasn’t present?

 

Before Ichigo could even begin to process all of this, their door is slammed open, and Isshin steps in – or more like scrambles in – supported by clearly drunk Ikkaku.

“Dad!?” Ichigo glares at his father, whose face was also red from drinking, and the old man blinks, clearing his vision.

Once he spots Ichigo, his face goes into a wide smile, and he wobbles over there, slumping over Ichigo, giving him a bear hug.

“This is my sonny right there! Did you know he sthayed behind watcshing after Inoue-chan when there was a hollow attack there?”

He manages to blurt out, ruffling Ichigo’s hair and laughing like the drunken dumbass he was right now, gaining a chuckle from Ikkaku, who leans against the wall.

“Dad, why the hell are you drunk!?”

Ichigo demands, showing the old man off him, making him collapse to the floor and then scoot into a ball, pouting and complaining that his ‘sonny’ was mean.

“We spent a looong day and night searching for some random hollow that was lurking around Rukongai, and after…”

Ikkaku attempts to take a step closer, but he was so drunk that he could not stay on his feet, and he collapses to the floor, face first.

The baldie then rolls around so he was lying on his back, holding a finger up with a drunken smile on his face.

“Afterr we finally found...and took care of the slippery fucker, Rangiku proposed we’d head out for drinks.”

“I can tell.” Ichigo tells sarcastically, then walks to his dad and nudges him lightly with his foot.

The old man sits up abruptly while yelling something about giant talking sake-bottles. He was drooling too, and Ichigo could not stop but facepalm.

“That’s right!” Isshin declares, then hiccups, trying to take support from Ichigo to scramble back up.

The boy just sighs and helps him slump to the couch next to Karin, who had scooted up to sit, and was currently rubbing her head as it still hurt.

“Did you find the hollow, daddy?”

Yuzu asks then sneezes.

Isshin looks at her dully for a moment, and then starts bawling his eyes out.

“My poor poor little girl is sick! Poor Yuzu-chan is being attacked by a nasty flu!” He then proceeds to hug the startled girl, still wailing loudly like a beached whale.

Okay, his dad was clearly too drunk to deal with anything right now, it was probably for the best to bring him to bed and talk about what happened to Karin tomorrow.

“Alright old man, come on.” Ichigo sighs and hauls Isshin to the bedroom, dropping him to the bed.

The man curls up into a ball, clutching a pillow and drooling on it, muttering about Yuzu and talking sake and other random crap.

Ichigo sighs and walks back to the living room, finding that Ikkaku had managed to clear his head enough to stand up.

“Right, Ichigo! I was, we were…”

He chuckles in the middle of his sentence, taking support from a wall.

“We ran into Urahara, and he asked you ta come see him tomorrow.”

“…Okay? Need help getting home?”

Ikkaku waves his hand as he turns back to the door.

“Naa, I’m good, thanks fer asking, strawberry!”

Ichigo groans at that nickname; he hated it when people called him a strawberry, or berry, or any eatable thing in the first place.

Just because it COULD be written like that, it did not mean his name actually was!

He watches Ikkaku scramble back to the street, taking a few steps, then falling flat to the ground, snoring.

Ichigo sighs and rubs his eyes.

“Alright, I guess you do need help.”

 

 

Luckily, he did not have to go and bring Ikkaku home – Ichigo was not keen on leaving his sisters alone after what had happened with Karin – as Rangiku and Yumichika appear; they had been looking for him and Isshin after seeing them leave the bar.

They haul the drunken baldie off the ground and thank Ichigo for making sure he did not fall face down into a puddle or something, before heading away towards Ikkaku’s house.

Ichigo walks back indoors and closes the door, sighing and turning back to Yuzu and Karin, who were still processing what had just happened.

“Should we tell dad about what happened to Karin?” Yuzu asks after a moment of silence, glancing towards her sister who was still sitting on the couch tense.

“He’s not really able to process anything at the moment; let’s talk with him tomorrow.”

After a moment, the two girls nod. Then, Karin looks at him unsure.

“I…”

Ichigo knew what she was going to ask and just nods.

“I’ll bring a mattress to your room.”

 

 

They had opted to closing the curtains on Karin’s room and sealing it tight just in case.

The girl was curled up to a ball, facing Ichigo. She was clearly shaken by what had happened, but somehow managed to get some sleep.

Ichigo was resting on a mattress he’d brought to the room, and he glances at Yuzu, who was sleeping on a separate mattress at the corner. After hearing what had happened to Karin, she had been too uneasy to sleep on her own as well, so all three siblings were now resting in the same room.

Ichigo had also brought the blue blade with him, putting it on Karin’s table.

The girl had eyed it dubiously, but said nothing. He had several reasons to keep it nearby anyway; one, if he just left it unattended; chances were another hollow would try to steal it. Two, if a hollow appeared here, he’d have a weapon to defend himself with – as long as the spirit cooperated.

Ichigo rolls on his back and gazes the ceiling in his thoughts.

Perhaps he should talk to Urahara about the spirit tomorrow, although Ichigo had a feeling the thing would not like it; the spirit had pretty much made him bleed in order to make his opinion about being revealed to the other Shinigami clear.

Just... _why?_

Why didn't the spirit want people to know about his presence in the sword?

The young man sighs and closes his eyes, face in a frown as he contemplated on what to do.

Suddenly, there was weight on him, and as Ichigo opens his eyes, he finds the spirit sitting on him.

The bony tail was wrapped around his throat again, and blue eyes peered at him from the darkness.

Ichigo glances at both of his sisters, noting that they were undisturbed, both sleeping peacefully. The cat-like being was not putting off a powerful aura right now it seemed, as otherwise his siblings would have writhed in their sleep.

“I guess you don’t want me telling Urahara about you.”

Ichigo whispers quietly, making sure he would not stir his sisters.

The spirit tilts his head and flashes a slight smirk down at him.

It was as menacing as usual with the sharp canines and a mad tint to it.

“Yer learning fast.”

Ichigo had heard that voice several times already, but this was the first time it was not just an echo on his head.

The spirit felt more real, sounded more real.

The young man looks at his sisters again.

“Relax kid. Only you can hear me.” The spirit chuckles at him, making Ichigo look back up.

“….What happened? Why did that hollow try to steal...you?”

The being snorts, and then lifts his cat-like foot to scratch the back of his ear, like a dog or a cat would.

It looked both really bizarre, and…kind of _cute_ , in a very weird way.

“Why should I tell ya?”

Ichigo frowns at that, lifting himself up from the mattress a little to lean against his elbows.

The tail around his throat tightens in an instant, and the blue eyes snap back at him sharply, but Ichigo won’t let it intimidate him.

“It was my sister you apparently saved. Plus, it is kind of strange to have a hollow try and get their hands on a zanpakuto.”

The blue haired spirit remains quiet, just glaring at him.

Then, a smirk spreads on his face.

It was less menacing than usual, and more mischievous, and it made Ichigo’s heart skip a beat lightly as he saw it. Without the mad tint, the smile was borderline charming.

Wait, what was he thinking?

“…Is yer name really a fuckin’ strawberry?”

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and then he glares at the snickering spirit. Before he could say anything however, a voice disturbs him, and he turns to look at Yuzu, who was wiping her eyes with a soft yawn.

“Ichi-nii? What is it?”

As the ginger looks back, he realizes the spirit was gone; it had disappeared the second Yuzu had stirred. He sighs and slumps back to his pillow, looking at her with a soft smile.

“No, everything’s fine. Go back to sleep.”

After a moment, Yuzu leans back down and falls asleep within seconds, due to her feverish state.

Ichigo gazes at the ceiling, expecting the spirit to pop back to tease him about his name, but nothing happens.

The being was done with him for today it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fourth chapter. I'm slowly getting closer to the stuff I had planned beforehand.  
> Imagining Grimmjow scratch his ear in that resurreccion form like a dog would is indeed cute and weird the same time  
> xD


	5. past glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo, Rukia and Renji head back to Hueco Mundo to study the strange place they had found. Ichigo makes a surprising discovery that slowly starts to unravel the secrets relating to the blue zanpakuto

The next morning, Ichigo helped Karin cook breakfast.

The girl was still tense, but managed to joke around for a bit. Ichigo was still sunken in thought, still uncertain on what to do. Should he tell Urahara about the spirit or not? What would, or rather, what could he do if Ichigo did?

”Should we go wake up the old man?”

Karin asks, glancing towards the master bedroom.

”Eventually. He’ll likely wake up once he smells the food."

It turned out, Ichigo was right, as the moment they put up the table, Isshin scrambled out of the bedroom, still wearing his shinigami uniform, yawning as a bit of drool ran down his chin.

”Morning dad.” Ichigo greets him, and Isshin just mumbles something incoherent as a reply, slumping down and banging his head against the table with a groan.

A hangover huh? Not a surprise.

”Dad, we need to tell you something.”

The man lifts his head and looks at Ichigo dazed. The ginger sighs, wondering if he was in any shape to hear about this yet.

”We’ll talk once you’ve woken up properly, now eat.”

While the duo ate, Ichigo brought a plate to Yuzu, who had moved back to her own room after waking up, not wanting to spend too much time in Karin’s room while sick.

”Thanks Ichi-nii. Is dad awake yet?”

”Yeah, though I doubt he can handle any shocking news yet. The old man looks half brain-dead.” Ichigo snorts, crossing his arms and shaking his head irritated.

Yuzu giggles a bit at that and scolds him for calling their dad brain-dead, before coughing out again.

”I’ll get you some medicine.” Ichigo tells her as he tucks her further in to the covers, heading to the bathroom.

After bringing the medication to Yuzu, the young man heads back to the kitchen, finding his dad leaning back on his chair, patting his rounded belly. Why did this old man have to make almost everything look comical?

Well, he kind of knew the reason, it related to their mother, but really, he didn't have to do it ALL the time.

”You are such a great cook Ichi! Almost on the level of your sister.” Isshin informs him with a dopey smile, making the ginger shake his head as he sits down to the free chair.

”Dad, I need to talk to you about what happened yesterday while you were gone.”

”Oh?”

The man straightens himself and looks at his son curiously.

Ichigo contemplates on his words, subconsciously touching his neck. There was nothing there right now, but he had a feeling the spirit was watching.

”A hollow showed up in our house and attacked Karin.”

The raven haired girl was about to protest as that wasn't exactly how it went, but Ichigo gives him a warning glance. Telling Isshin about Karin’s stunt would make their dad worry twice as much and turn overprotective towards her, something Karin herself did not like. Seemingly understanding Ichigo’s train of thought, she remains quiet.

Isshin stares at Ichigo dully for a moment, and then his jaw hit the table surface, metaphorically speaking.

”A _hollow_ attacked my little Karin?!”

”Yes, now I managed to dispatch it, but she was pretty shaken, so I would appreciate it if you could try and not go around drinking yourself silly today.” Ichigo comments dryly, making the old man rub his head sheepishly with an embarrassed blush on his face.

Then, he turns to look at the aforementioned girl, who just shrugs, not wanting to show how scared she’d been. Isshin’s face twists into that of a sad puppy, and he glomps his daughter, giving her similar bear hug to what he’d done to Yuzu yesterday.

”My sweet little girl! Thank goodness your brother was here to deal with the hollow!”

”Oww, let go of me old man I cannot breathe!” Karin complains, pushing her dad away by planting a hand on his face. Despite her protests, there was a slight bit of laughter in her eyes, and it was clear Isshin's antics were making her feel better, which was good.

Ichigo watches the typical sideshow for a moment, before sighing and eating his own food. He could feel Karin glance at him with a slight questioning look, likely wondering why he hadn’t mentioned the blade or the spirit she’d seen to their dad. Ichigo figured there was no point to inform his dad about it, as chances were there were no explanations Isshin could have come up with.

No, this kind of stuff should likely be talked with someone smarter, like Urahara.

The thing is...Ichigo was certain the spirit did not want him to do that, and he did not know what it would do if he did.

 

 

 

Ichigo heads towards Urahara’s house, the blade on his belt.

The spirit had remained quiet so far, but once they began nearing the more remote house of the sand blond haired man, Ichigo felt the familiar feeling of a vine wrapping around his neck.

”I’m not going to tell Urahara about you.”

Ichigo reassures the spirit quietly. He did not want to risk his family, not knowing what the aggressive spirit could do. The vine around his neck did not disappear, and the ginger sighs and stops, placing a hand on the sword’s hilt. Out of all the zanpakuto spirits in the world, he just had to be stuck with a suspicious, paranoid and aggressive one.

”I mean it. I don’t want to risk you hurting my family over this.”

A low chuckle echoes in his brain, and Ichigo heard a familiar purring voice next to his ear a second later. He notes it sounded a bit off from previous times; the spirit sounded a bit... tired?

 

 

_Wise choice._

Finally, the vine disappears and Ichigo releases a slow sigh, before finishing his journey to the house.

 

For his surprise, Rukia and Renji were there as well, and waved at him once he arrived.

”Morning Ichigo!” Rukia greets him, and Ichigo smiles and waves back at her, asking what they were doing here.

”Oh, yesterday, while I was visiting Inoue, Urahara came by and asked Renji and me to come here this morning, apparently he needs us for something.”

The redhead frowns and examines Ichigo from head to toes.

”He did not ask you to be included as well though; you trying to sneak alongside us like last time?” The man teases him, gaining a snort and informing Renji about what Ikkaku had told him yesterday evening.

”Are you sure he wasn’t just drunk and making shit up?”

”Quite frankly, he wasn’t. I did indeed ask him and Isshin inform Kurosaki-san about coming here.”

Urahara interrupts them as he steps out of the house, fan in hand and hat shadowing his eyes as usual.

”Initially I figured I should let him rest given how tired he had been, but later I came to the conclusion that perhaps having him with us could be of use.”

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that, and the man gestures them to enter.

Gathering around the table, all three look at the man expectantly.

”I’ve been...studying my notes regarding to Hueco Mundo and what you three have told us about what you witnessed. I am unfortunately still not able to go and investigate that building myself yet.”

”Why not?”

”I have matters to attend to, and as you know, opening and closing portals to that dimension is complicated; I only have a limited time window to where I can operate the system.”

Ichigo quickly understood where the man was heading with this.

”You want us to go back there and investigate?”

Urahara nods slightly. ”I want you to go there and gather as much data as you can for me.”

Renji crosses his arms with a frown, as this did not really explain why they had to do the legwork and not Urahara who had the interest in it.

”Why can’t you do that yourself?”

”I’d much rather take my time studying it, but I simply don’t have enough of it at the moment.”

It was kind of hard to believe, as Ichigo rarely saw Urahara busy. Then again, he was part of the secretive investigation branch of Shinigami-order, so it was not too surprising they did not see him actually work much.

”Very well, but it would be nice if we could be sure there won’t be any hollows surprise attacking us, or distracting Ichigo.” The woman looks at the ginger pointedly, who lets out a sheepish laugh, rubbing his head awkwardly. He was _never_ gonna live this down, was he?

”Oh do not worry, I have prepared you devices that will camourflage your spiritual energy; hollows wont be able to spot you as long as you stay out of their sight.”

After a moment of contemplation, the group nods and gets up, following Tessai to get their supplies for this mission.

Before Ichigo could leave the room however, Urahara calls out his name and asks him to sit down as he had more to discuss.

”About that zanpakuto of yours...” Ichigo tenses, wondering what the man wanted.

”I heard that a hollow attempted to steal it and attacked your sister.”

Ichigo did not even bother asking how the man knew. Urahara had his ways to find out about all sorts of things, it was sort of his job as part of the investigative branch.

”I think it is for the best for you to leave the blade here for this mission.”

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that. He did this gesture a lot around Urahara, which probably said a lot about the hat-wearing man.

”Why?”

”Even if my device camouflages you, it might not do the same for our mystery zanpakuto. Besides, the fact a hollow tried to steal it from you is peculiar.”

Yeah, that was true.

”What am I supposed to use then?”

Urahara just nods at a training sword leaning against a wall next to him. It was likely prepared specifically for Ichigo.

”....I might just break it.” The ginger warns him, but Urahara did not seem bothered by the prospect.

”It is just for this mission, and if you play your cards right, you won’t even have to use it.”

Ichigo grasps the blade, switching it out with the blue and white one. He places the panther zanpakuto to the table, although he felt a little uneasy about parting with it.

”Do not worry, I will not do anything to it, we just make sure it won’t get stolen while you are away.”

That was not what Ichigo was worried about; he just feared what the spirit would do, realizing it was stuck with a Shinigami that was not Ichigo.

He hoped to whatever gods that the spirit would just remain hidden as usual and not cause trouble.

”Do not worry, Kurosaki-san.” Urahara tells him again, an unreadable gaze in his eyes.

Ichigo just sighs and nods, getting up and heading after Rukia and Renji.

 

 

Once they had filled their bags with all the necessary equipment needed for their trip, the trio heads to the basement of Urahara’s house, where the device to open doorways to Hueco Mundo was located and waiting for them.

”Remember, you have only 24 hours before the portal opens again. If you miss that chance, it might take a while before we can get this up and running again.” Urahara warns them about the time limit as usual, and the trio nods, watching as the machine whirs to life and slowly, a crack starts appearing in the air, revealing the endless desert of Hueco Mundo behind it.

”Alright, let’s go then boys.”

Rukia tells them and jumps trough the portal. Ichigo gives one last glance at Urahara, who was holding the blue blade wrapped in canvas in his hand.

The man just nods at him, and Ichigo turns, following his friends back into the monster world.

 

 

 

 

They reach the building trough the same route Ichigo had entered there in the beginning, and later Renji and Rukia had followed him.

They figured it was smarter to just go through a route they knew at first, instead of trying to locate the building from the outside. They did not even know for sure if the place was in fact a building or just collection of rooms carved inside a mountain.

The devices - sort of wrist bracelets Urahara had given them - had indeed worked as no hollow they encountered seemed to be aware of their presence as long as they kept out of sight.

Once the trio enters the large pillar filled room, Rukia uses the detector device they had recovered during the last trip to check if there were any hollows nearby. It seemed that the place was empty for now.

”Let’s start then.”

She concludes and grabs another device, a flash-light looking object that used their own spiritual pressure, transforming the energy into light.

It was better than just using a ball of kido like Ichigo had done before, because it would light up a bigger area.

They all light up their own torches to look around. Ichigo had known the area was big, but now... it was clear just how big it was. The pillars seemed to keep going for miles, and what’s more, not all of them even reached the roof. They seemed to be more decorative than anything, and indeed, as they examined them more closely, quite a few had carvings in them.

”Woah, there were even more pictures than we thought.” Renji whistles as he examines the place.

Rukia digs out the camera Urahara had given them, and starts taking pictures from their surroundings. While the two examined the area, Ichigo heads back to the room he’d fought the two hollows in.

He also takes pictures from the area, such as the broken down murals, and the fallen pillar with the figure in it.

After photographing it, Ichigo crouches next to the image, examining it more closely.

He suddenly realizes that there was something in the picture he had not noticed before.

It was faint, but there was a feline like shape above the portrayed figure.

Ichigo’s eyes widen, as he realizes that he had seen the feline before; it was the exact same picture as the carving in the mystery zanpakuto.

”Is this...is _this_ your owner?”

Ichigo muses brushing his sword, only to remember that yeah, he did not have it with him right now. He examines the picture more curiously now, and notes that while the color was dulled, the male in the picture seemed to have bluish hair. Sort of like the spirit in the sword had.

Ichigo stands up and looks around, wondering if he could see more pictures about this particular man in this place.

Most of the pictures in the walls were near unreadable, but Ichigo spots that there was a doorway he had not noticed last time; a pile of rubble was hiding a wider doorway, similar to the one that led to the pillar room.

The young man walks to it, noting that the corridor behind the doorway was pitch black, and also not as high as the room behind him. Ichigo glances behind him, noting that Rukia and Renji had entered to the room as well, looking around.

”Hey, come check this out!”

The duo rush to him, and look surprised upon discovering the doorway Ichigo had found.

”Should we go check it?” Renji asks unsure, not liking the idea of going into the darkness.

Rukia checks her detector, and after a moment informs the two there were no hollows nearby.

”In general...there doesn’t seem to be any anywhere close this place. It feels like Hollows avoid this building, or whatever it is.”

Yeah, now when Ichigo thought about it, the hollows that had initially chased him back then had stopped the second he got too close to this place. It raised a question why Shrieker and his companion had come here though. Perhaps....they did not know something others did?

”Let’s go.”

Ichigo leads the group trough the corridor, and for their surprise, there were more of those images on the walls of the pathway.

Most were decayed and broken like the ones in the room behind them, but Ichigo stops as he spots something familiar.

There it was again.

In one mural, he saw the same blue haired figure, portrayed in what seemed to be a battle. He was surrounded by at least dozens and dozens of hollows, but based on the way he was portrayed, stable and a powerful aura around him, it was clear the figure was the one with the upper hand. The fact some Hollows portrayed were lying on the ground, likely dead, was an indication of that.

”Huh, it’s the same guy from the pillar.”

Renji mutters out, taking a picture about the image.

Ichigo lifts his hand up and brushes the figure, noting that the hilt of the sword the male held was similar to the blue blade.

”So this is really him huh.” He mutters out, gaining a confused look from the two.

Ichigo shakes his head and continues to walk. Eventually, they reach a staircase that seemed to lead even further up.

”Ookay, this place’s layout is strange; didn’t we like, see the sky in that previous room already? You know the hole in the roof?” Renji mutters out, not really liking the darkness surrounding them.

While Rukia had said there were no hollows nearby, you never knew.

After they reached the top of the stairs, the trio enters into another, large room. It was even bigger than the one before, and had a distinct feature to it. There were large, white thrones in a half circle. Most were broken, but there had been at least ten of them.

”What the hell?”

Renji just gapes at the room, having never seen anything like it.

This area felt very much like the center of this place, as there were several corridors all around them that led into different directions. Ichigo walks up the stairs in front of the thrones, and examines each of them, while Rukia and Renji took photos about their surroundings. This room was brighter, probably because there were several holes and cracks on the roof high above them.

As Ichigo looks up at the first throne, he notices something peculiar; it had a number on it, carved in similar style to the number six on the blue blade.

Except, this number was different; it was not six, but _one_.

There was also an animal portrayed under the number, a wolf.

Ichigo frowns, and then checks trough rest of the seats.

Two of them had their backs destroyed, so Ichigo could not even tell if those two had numbers and animals in them, but in all likeness they had had, given the rest did.

Soon enough, he finds what he was looking for; by the time he reaches the chair near the middle, he finds a familiar number six, and a white panther carved upon it.

Ichigo takes a picture of it, and then notices there were some markings above the panther as well.

It almost looked like... writing of sorts, but Ichigo had never seen a language like this.

He cautiously puts his bag to the seat and digs out a notebook he’d taken with him, copying those strange letters from the throne. Perhaps there was something in the Shinigami library he could use to translate this.

”These looks like thrones. Did Hollows sometime have kings or queens?”

Rukia comments as she walks to Ichigo, examining the chairs with a frown.

”I don’t know.” The ginger mutters out, closing the book and putting it back into his bag.

The group ventures further into the strange temple - or rather, a palace - and the more they examine the place, the more it becomes clear that this place was once raided by someone, or several people.

There were signs of an old battle everywhere; destroyed walls, broken down pillars, slash marks and destroyed murals all around them.

They photograph and write down all the possible details they could, but it was honestly unnerving to be around this place. They could only imagine what had possibly happened here, and whatever it was, it had to be dramatic and in all likeness, tragic.

Eventually, they reach a smaller room that actually had proper windows on it; it seemed to be an old bedroom, given there was a bed-frame made out of the same white stone that most of the furniture they had come across. The bedsheets and the mattress had decayed away long ago however, with only small scraps of them left. Rukia peeks outside from the windows, and she notes they were likely at the side of the mountain the cave-system was located.

”So, this place is built into the side of a mountain?” Renji questions, then rubs his stomach as it growls loudly.

”I suppose it’s time for a lunch break.” Rukia concludes with a slight amused smile, although none of them felt too eager on stopping to eat in this place. Rukia checks her device once again, and it _still_ did not show any hollows nearby. 

Just in case however, she puts up a kido wall together with Ichigo and Renji to ward off any potential sneak attacks.

While eating their lunch, Ichigo could not stop but think back at the blue haired figure.

That had to be the owner of the zanpakuto, given the image where he’d wielded one similar to it.

Ichigo was highly curious now; who was that man, and what had happened to him? He takes out his notebook and scrolls through it, until he finds the page he had scribbled down the weird symbols on. This _had_ to be the man’s name, Ichigo was fairly certain about it.

”Hey, could that blade you have belong to one of those figures that are portrayed in those murals?”

Renji suddenly asks while munching down his sandwich, and Ichigo looks up at him, surprised. Not about the idea itself as that was pretty much what Ichigo thought, but the fact Renji had even thought along the same lines.

”It’s just, would make more sense than some random Shinigami.”

Yeah, that was true. But if this was the case...

”Who were they? They all look very human...”

Rukia hums, holding her chin as she thought back on all the images they had seen. Indeed, most of them portrayed these human-like figures, which seemed to be worshiped by the hollows, or they battled against them. These beings... they seemed like they had been somehow highly important to the demonic creatures.

As she looks down at her own notes and drawings - Ichigo was honestly surprised Rukia could even make out which one was which as her drawing skills were goddamn awful - the woman counts she had seen eleven different human-like figures so far. That tugs on something in her mind, and the short woman frowns as she examines her notes more closely.

”That’s peculiar. There seems to be only ten thrones, but there have been eleven different human-figures.”

She comments after realizing this confusing fact, and the boys check through her notes as well - trying to ignore the horrible drawings - noting that she was right.

”Maybe one of them has their own throne elsewhere?” Renji questions, drinking from his water bottle.

Ichigo hums, looking through the photos he had taken.

He also agreed with Rukia’s unsaid train of thought when he examined all the pictures they’d seen; it did seem like these figures were being elevated to a status of a leader, or even some sort of demi-god. If that had been the case… perhaps that explained why that one hollow kept calling Karin a thief.

No one would like somebody taking stuff from their sanctuary of sorts.

Looking at his pictures, Ichigo notes sheepishly that most of his were about the blue haired figure, but there were few others as well.

In one picture, the blunet had stood next to a long haired male, who held a really strangely shaped blade.

In another, he’d seen two women portrayed, one surrounded by what seemed to be a wave, other had mountains behind her. They stood side-by-side, in what seemed almost like a harmonious configuration. The two having opposite elements also strengthened the effect. Perhaps...maybe those two women shared a position or so, hence there were only ten chairs for eleven figures?

There had also been a tall, brown haired man, surrounded by a pack of what seemed to be wolves; perhaps he had been the one to sit on the number one throne.

The weirdest one they had seen was the human like thing with an elongated white head.

Still though, Ichigo found himself focus mainly on the blue haired man, the one who was often portrayed with a white panther near him somehow. As Ichigo examined the picture of the battle scene again, he could stop but note that even in this rough, slightly caricaturist style, the man had been  _handsome._

Sure, the two women had clearly been beautiful and all, but... there was something about this blue haired man that gained his attention the most, and it wasn’t just because he probably had his zanpakuto. In almost all images that portrayed him, the man was almost always portrayed somehow fiercely, a lot of times in a battle. Even in that picture where he just stood side by side with the long haired male, his expression was intense.

None of the other figures were portrayed like this, although Ichigo couldn't be sure given most of the murals they'd seen were badly damaged and illegible.

Either way, it almost felt like that out of all of these...one could supposedly say rulers, he was the warrior.

Ichigo was so engrossed by the images, that he did not notice his friends packing their things, ready to map out more of the place, not until Rukia snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, snapping Ichigo out of it.

”Come on, there is still a lot to cover and our time is running out.”

Ichigo quickly packs his stuff as well and follows them out of the room. In the end, they did have to fight couple of hollows - on the way out, away from the palace.

 

 

Ichigo did not break his sword like he’d expected, which supposedly was a good thing. They make it to the portal in a nick of time, having it close just moments after they scrambled to the floor of Urahara’s basement. They could have gotten there faster, but then Renji had gotten lost, and it had taken them a while to find a way out from the cave system.

”Welcome back. I assume it has been an interesting trip.” The man greets them cheerfully.

”I suppose you could say so. That place seems to hold a lot of secrets.” Rukia tells the man as she hands over her camera and notes.

Ichigo follows the example, but he keeps the page with the symbols for himself, stuffing it inside his shinigami robes. He wanted to find out the name of the blue haired man by himself, the one that was supposedly the owner of the blue zanpakuto.

”It was really weird though; there legit were no hollows around, it was like they avoided the place like plague.” Renji comments, still confused about that.

”Makes one wonder if those two only entered because they did not understand the meaning of that place.” Rukia ponders in turn, and ichigo nods lightly, having already come to this conclusion earlier.

It did not matter too much though; Ichigo had other things to think about, and he looks at Urahara, who gestures him to follow.

”You must have found a lot of interesting things from there.”

”....I guess so.” Ichigo comments with a shrug, not really wanting to tell the man too much about his thoughts. Honestly, he had a feeling the actual reason Urahara had wanted him to go there as well was not because he was 'of use' given nothing much happened, but because he WANTED Ichigo to see all that personally for some reason. The young man doesn't ask the man about it.

The hat wearing man examines him from behind his fan but says nothing either, leading Ichigo to his office.

He opens a cabinet and takes out the blue blade, handing it to Ichigo, wrapped in canvas.

The ginger takes it back carefully, removing the sheet and examining the zanpakuto closely. Yes, this had to be the same blade as the one he’d seen in the mural. Even the panther image and the number six was exact replica of the shape he’d seen in that throne. This had to belong to that man. Who that man was, Ichigo had no clue, and he doubted the spirit himself would tell him.

Perhaps the library would have books or scriptures to help him however.

 

 

As Ichigo headed home, he soon could feel a familiar presence nudging his brain.

It was less harsh than usual, and the voice sounded tired like in the morning.

Could a zanpakuto spirit that was not used in battle get exhausted?

 

 

_The fuck were you doing?_

 

 

”Urahara-san asked us to investigate the place I found you from.”

The spirit remains quiet for a moment.

 

 

_So did ya find anything interesting?_

 

 

His voice sounded mocking, but there was a curious undertone to it. Curious and....uneasy? Was the spirit anxious about something?

”....I might’ve discovered who your owner was.”

Again, silence.

The ginger looks around; it was very early morning, so there were no people around. Not that there were much folk nearby Urahara’s house ever anyway. Ichigo decides to take a risk and continues talking.

”The blue haired man. I saw him in so many murals, and in one of them, he held a sword exactly like this.”

Ichigo places a hand on the blue hilt.

No response, but the presence of the spirit was still lingering in the air.

”....He was your owner, right? What was his name?”

At first, the spirit says nothing.

Then, a slight, unstable chuckle echoes in his head, and the next words he hears came right next to his ear, except this time it felt like the spirit was actually _there_ , as there was no echo.

 

_”It’s true ’he’ owns the zanpakuto. But ’he’ ain’t my master. I ain’t got one.”_

 

Ichigo remains quiet, waiting.

The presence had vanished after those words, indicating the spirit no longer wished to talk to him.

The ginger sighs, bringing out the sheet of paper and examining it in the dim morning light. So, if the spirit would not tell him the man’s identity, he could try and figure it out himself.

 

 

 

Ichigo leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes frustrated. He had gone trough all possible books about hollows, all the scriptures, he’d even looked trough at the folklore stuff that was mostly just bullshit hearsay. Nothing, there was not even a mention of anything relating to the temple, the figures, or even the symbols in the scrap of paper he had.

”This is pointless. There was a reason why that place was a surprise.”

Ichigo mumbles out, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It was already midday by now, and his family was probably wondering where the hell he was, as he had not stopped by home before coming here. He was getting hungry as well, and probably needed to head out for lunch soon.

As Ichigo gazes at the ceiling, watching the dust particles dance in sunlight, he notices a small figure sitting on top of the bookshelf nearby.

It was a black cat.

Ichigo frowns and gazes at the feline; how had it gotten in here?

”You should probably leave little guy - or gal - as the librarian will flip her shit if she sees you here.”

The cat just tilts his head, as if it didn’t understand what Ichigo was saying. Likely the cat didn’t.

After a moment of them just staring at each other, the cat suddenly stands up and lifts its butt in the air, clearly preparing to jump to the next shelf behind Ichigo.

”Hold on, you won’t make the gap!”

Ichigo warns the cat, worrying that the poor thing would fall and break its paw. The cat naturally doesn’t listen, and leaps.

For his surprise it actually makes it, although the feline also knocks off a pile of books at the top of the shelf, creating bit of a mess to the floor.

”Seriously.”

Ichigo sighs and gets up, stretching and heading to clean the pile. As he puts the books back to the shelf, Ichigo suddenly realizes one was not like the others. It was much older and worn, and as he checks in it, it becomes clear this was not an ordinary book. It looked like a very old diary with its yellowed pages and worn covers.

What gained his attention however, was the new looking red bookmark in it.

It was clearly much younger than the book itself, as the silk bookmark was not worn out at all.

Ichigo glances around, then cautiously opens the page the thing was marking.

His eyes widen in shock; there were those same symbols as he’d written down into his notebook.

Ichigo sits back down and reads the page curiously.

Most of it was in his language, although the style of writing was slightly oldish, using expressions Ichigo would not personally use anymore.

However, he quickly understood the gist of it.

 

_”He is a very peculiar man, but I believe I am justified to say he is quite frankly, not as violent and unreasonable as some may wish to think. One just needs to get trough the strong defenses a man in his place in the world needs to survive.”_

 

Whose diary was this, and whom was this person talking about?

 

_”My siblings keep questioning why I choose to spend time with the one they deem a brutal, near unforgiving monstrosity. I would not do it if what they said was in fact true. The fact I wish to share my time and trust with him should tell them that there is more to him than what they see.”_

 

Ichigo’s eyes drift back to the page with the symbols on it. He reads the text above it.

 

_ ”He taught me how to write my name in his language. It is a challenging one to learn, but not impossible. I wish more people would attempt to do this instead of dismissing them as brutes. There is so much to learn if one would just make an effort.” _

 

Below, Ichigo saw a name, and it was written with those symbols beneath. His eyes widen as he reads the name, as he recognizes it.

”Kaien Shiba.... _no way?!_ ”

Ichigo leans back in shock; Kaien Shiba was his ancestor, who had lived over three hundred years ago.

He had been a well renowned Shinigami of his time, who had sadly ended up dying in the hands of a hollow before he got to see his unborn child. There was a lot of mystery surrounding him, just like that time period in general.

So this was...Kaien Shiba’s diary?

Why was it in the library, decaying away like this?

Something like this book should be in the museum!

Ichigo sucks in a deep breath and turns his attention back at the pages in front of him. He suddenly notices that it was not just Kaien’s name that was written and translated on the page. There was another name beneath it, and Ichigo glances at his scrap of paper, realizing it was the same symbols he had written down.

This meant... the person Kaien had been talking about, perhaps it was the blue haired man he’d seen portrayed in those murals.

Ichigo swallows down nervously, realizing that he was about to make a break trough.

That cat had been a godsend, or perhaps it had been his ancestors spirit itself, wanting him to find this.

After taking in another deep breath, he turns his gaze back at the words written on the yellowed page.

 

_Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez._

 

That was an unusual name, which further indicated that Kaien was not talking about some Shinigami.

This had to be the name of the blue haired man, whose zanpakuto he had on his belt right now. Ichigo glances down at it, then makes a decision. He grasps the book and his scrap of paper, putting back the rest and heading out of the library.

He did not notice the black cat watching him intently as he went.

 

 

As Ichigo reaches home, he finds that Yuzu was up and about, making late lunch with Karin. She looked much better and greeted him cheerfully as he entered. ”Where the heck were you?” Karin asks, although she was aware of Ichigo’s mission.

”Hueco Mundo. We went on a tour.”

Ichigo says simply, his mind too preoccupied with what he’d found out. He just walks up to his room, gaining a confused look from both of his sisters. Ichigo takes the blade from his belt and examines it.

He wanted to ask the spirit about this so badly, but... he could not sense anything right now, and he did not really know how to ’summon’ him or so. All Ichigo could do was wait until the thing decided to show up himself.

”Ichigo?”

The boy near jumps, then puts the zanpakuto to the table, turning to face Karin who had followed him to his room.

”Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

”Oh, it was just a long mission, that all.”

Karin frowns, clearly not buying his bluff. Ichigo brushes trough his hair with a sigh, leaning against the table behind him.

”Look, it’s nothing serious. I just found out some stuff back there that might relate to the original owner of this thing.” He taps the hilt of the blue blade, gaining a slow nod from his little sister.

For a moment they both just stood there silent, until the girl sighs and informs him the lunch would be done soon.

”Also, Urahara brought you a special box yesterday you can put the blade in when not using it, so it won’t get stolen.” She says, gesturing to the decorated wooden box under his bed, that had a lot of protective symbols and seals in it.

Ichigo nods and watches Karin leave the room, before sighing and bringing the book out, examining it.

After a moment, he decides to put the diary into the box alongside the zanpakuto, figuring it was the safest place to keep it for now. After he was done closing the lid, Ichigo straightens himself and heads downstairs, already smelling the food on the table.

 

 

 

_Fuck, he was tired._

_Using his power as much as he had when saving that brat’s sorry ass was apparently a bad idea after all, given how much of his power was sealed still._

_When the carrot-top had returned from his trip, he’d been too exhausted to even bother acting menacingly._

_Once he’d learned what the kid had been up to however, he’d kinda wished he had more power in his hands right now._

_He did **not** want the fucker to learn anything about him. _

_There was a reason why he only showed himself to the brat in his hybrid form._

_He did not want the kid to see his wounds, constant reminders of a battle he’d lost in a pitiful manner. He almost wanted to laugh, when the fucker had inquired him about the owner of the zanpakuto._

_The carrot had no clue how close he was._

_He had not paid much attention to what the kid was doing while he’d been in the library, those places were boring anyway._

_However, once he put that book in the box alongside his zanpakuto, he realized he’d seen that one before._

_It was that bastard, Kaien’s diary._

_He could still recall how often the shithead had written into it, making notes when he answered his annoying questions occasionally._

_He’d even asked him to show how their language was written to him._

_The hell did he think he was? A teacher? Tsch._

_In the end he’d done it, because that raven haired moron was persistent as all hell, much like..._

_He pauses, as his mind suddenly makes a connection, that should have been obvious._

_The kid fucking **looked** like Kaien, minus the eye-raping orange hair._

_”They’re related, aren’t they?”_

_He started to chuckle, his voice growing unstable. Worse than usual that is, as his laugh was always borderline loopy, he was well aware of it._

_Well wasn’t this a riot?_

_He somehow always ended up stuck with a stubborn fucking moron, that wanted to learn more about him. It was hilarious, and irritating._

_His hysterical laughter grows louder, until it echoes in the walls of his spiritual prison, up until his eyes began to brittle with bitter, angry tears, and he grows quiet, slumping to the ground and curling up, just staring at the floor in front of him._

_He didn’t wanna deal with this._

_Not another one like this, who was persistent on learning more and making friends._

_Last time he had given a sliver of trust to a fucking Shinigami they had stabbed him in the back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was quite enthusiastic about this chapter, not gonna lie; I love building lore in stories, and this chapter definitely does it. Also, This whole Kaien thing purely started from the fact that he looks like Ichigo.


	6. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo makes new discoveries about the blade, and the spirit within.

Ichigo was quite frustrated; no matter how much he waited, the spirit refused to show up.

He’d even dared to have the blade when he visited Ukitake to inform the man about another case of unseen hollow appearing to Seireitei, but nothing. The spirit clearly did not want to talk to him for some reason right now. In a way it wasn’t surprising, because it had been pretty obvious the thing did not want Ichigo to find out anything about him.

Why though, that was the question.

Ichigo just could not understand why the spirit was so against this.

Did he really think the Shinigami would destroy the sword or something if they found out? If so, why?

 _What on earth_ had happened to this zanpakuto spirit in the past?

Ichigo sighs and rolls on his belly, gazing at the wall in front of him. It was late at night, but Ichigo couldn’t sleep.

Too many questions swirled in his head about all of this, and he hated he did not have answers. The ginger’s gaze drifts downwards, and he sits up, reaching under his bed to pull the box out. He had not touched the diary for over a week now, feeling hesitant to read any further about it, it was a highly personal item after all, even if the owner had been dead for years.

However, as it had become clear the damn cat would not cooperate, Ichigo decided to take a further peek after all.

He takes the notebook from the box and sits to his table, turning on the small light. With a sigh, he opens the diary, scrolling through until he reached the page with the name translations on it. He flips the page, and notices there were in fact more of those translations on the next page.

_”The king of beasts, I must say, it is rather suitable nickname to a man as fierce and, dare I say, theatrical as he is.”_

Below that text was the title ’beast king’ written both in their language, and with those symbols.

Ichigo almost laughs as he notes the rest of the translations were pretty much insults.

It was fairly clear his ancestor had a sense of humor as he’d actually bothered to ask how to translate the clearly colorful language of this 'king'.

 

As Ichigo flips more pages forward, something catches his eye.

 

_”The name of one’s zanpakuto spirit is of personal matter, and we rarely discuss them openly amongst others of our kindred. This is true with the Espada as well, although they are even stricter with it, never mentioning the names of their companion to outsiders.”_

 

 

Espada?

Was that the name those figures had been referred as collectively?

What did it mean?

 

 

_”I was... surprised when Grimmjow-san allowed me to witness the beast within his zanpakuto, and even introduced her to me. I feel he might not even be aware how much significance this action has, for he has always been a rebel in nature. We have known for a long time, but seeing this sign of trust from him, it is truly warming my heart.”_

 

 

Below that, was yet another translation.

 

**Pantera.**

 

Ichigo’s eyes widen, so was this the name of the spirit in the blade?

Except... Ichigo frowns as he looks back up at the paragraph above. Kaien was clearly referring to the Zanpakuto spirit as ’she,’ which would mean it was a female. However, the spirit Ichigo had met was a _male._

He leans back in his chair with a frown, pondering this strange conflict of information.

A thought starts creeping up in his head, but it did not make much sense. There was no way what he was thinking could be possible.

The brown eyes drift back towards the box, and after a moment of hesitation, Ichigo gets up and brings the blade out, examining it closely. He could not sense anything from it, no blue eyes appeared to its surface. The spirit was either asleep or ignoring him still.

As Ichigo studies the blade more closely, he suddenly spots something in it he hadn’t noticed before for some reason. Perhaps because the hilt was so worn, but there was a small, burned symbol on it, near the guard.

Ichigo was fairly certain it was a symbol from a Shinigami spell, as he could’ve sworn he’d seen one before. It was a symbol relating to binding, a process which was used to create the soul-inhabited zanpakutos.

Why would there be one in this one though, when it wasn’t a weapon for a Shinigami?

”Someone was trying to bind this sword, but why? If it already had a spirit...”

Ichigo looks up and out of the window, then quickly tugs on some clothes and grasps the sword, sneaking out of the house and heading for the library. There were perhaps no books about the palace and the figures portrayed in those wall paintings, but Ichigo knew for a _fact_ there were books and writings about binding spells.

 

 

 

The library was empty at this hour, which was not surprising; people rarely ventured in at night, even when all Shinigami had keys for it in case they did need to use it this late.

Ichigo quickly turns on a lamp for himself near the shelf about spells, and looks through the books until he finds the one he was looking for. The ginger sits down and scrolls through it, placing the blade on the table next to him so he could see the small symbol on the hilt. He was trying to find the exact same mark, as Ichigo knew there were several different binding symbols.

After a while, he finds what he was looking for. Ichigo frowns and reads the text below the image.

 

_”This symbol was mainly used 300 years ago during what we refer to as the "lost years" period. Not too much detail is known about this, but so far it is believed that the symbol was used as means to bind and seal away a zanpakuto spirits which had lost their minds for one reason or another. It is generally accepted theory that back then performing this ritual was much more dangerous and difficult given the soul-sword tradition had only existed for around 50 years, and chances were the sword-spirit created back in those times would end up being harmful rather than useful. If this was the case, this spell was used to seal it into the sword, and it would later be destroyed.”_

 

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and he felt a little disturbed by this.

Sure, the zanpakuto spirits were technically just pieces of one’s soul, but they tended to have their own personality, thoughts, and even memories.

The fact Shinigami were forced to destroy them right after birth in some cases long ago... it was truly sad.

Granted, given the symbol was from the lost years period, the exact truth was not known, but either way, this sounded really awful.

Ichigo glances at the blade next to him.

Had the blue haired man done this to his spirit because he was so volatile?

Somehow, Ichigo doubted it, as he had seen the man portrayed as using the blade.

Besides... this was a _Shinigami_ symbol, meaning a shinigami had done this. The blue haired man, ichigo had no idea who or what he was, but he definitely wasn't a Shinigami.

This meant, someone else had sealed the spirit inside the blade.

Ichigo’s gaze drifts back at the text, as his mind comes up with another question.

According to the text, the spirit would be sealed in the blade completely if this symbol was used, but it was fairly clear the one in this blue blade was at least partially free. Had it always been so, or had he done something when he picked it up?

Plus...Ichigo could still remember the strange sensation he’d first had when finding it.

The zanpakuto had definitely put out some sort of aura, which, if this text was to be believed, did not make sense; completely sealed away would mean no traces of spiritual pressure would slip out. This explained why the blade had felt empty to most, but it did not explain why Ichigo could sense things at times, and why the spirit could now pop up at random outside the sword.

He closes the book and sighs frustrated.

If only the damn spirit would talk to him, maybe he’d learn more then.

Ichigo was fairly certain he could not find all the answers from the dusty books in this place.

Suddenly, a noise catches his attention, and Ichigo turns his head to look behind him. There was nobody in sight, but Ichigo felt he was not alone. He grasps the blade and sits up cautiously, looking around. Maybe it was the librarian? No, it was not like Isane-san to sneak around, she would have come to Ichigo directly, asking why he was there this late.

As Ichigo approaches the direction the sound had come from, a shadow moves past his peripheral vision. Ichigo whips around, but still sees nothing. Then, something suddenly leaps at him, making him stumble to the ground. As he looks up, he sees a familiar, skull-like mask peering down at him. This one was lean and had long arms and legs alongside a really long, whip-like tail, and it was currently trying to pry the sword off his hands.

It was the most bizarre thing he’d ever witnessed; no Hollow would willingly touch a zanpakuto usually.

”How the fuck did you get in here?”

Ichigo questions, although he knows he was not going to receive an answer. Sure enough, the thing just hisses at him, and Ichigo quickly kicks it off him, making it crash against the nearest shelf and nearly knocking it down, before the thing could barf a faceful of acid on him.

Ichigo jumps on his feet, and the two circles each other cautiously. He could already tell that he was on his own in this; the spirit would not let him channel his spiritual energy trough the blade. Besides, it was not like Ichigo wanted to do it in this cramped space, as the hollow had already made a mess there. Using a spiritual pressure powered attack could just destroy half of the building, which would be a serious headache for poor Isane, who was already easily anxious.

”You guys really want this sword, huh?”

The hollow just spits acid towards him, and Ichigo leaps out of the way, feeling bad about the books the green liquid melted. He swings his sword to try and crack the creature’s mask open, but the thing whips its long tail and smacks him in the middle of his chest, sending Ichigo fly against another bookshelf, this time actually making it collapse to the ground. While dazed, he doesn’t notice the thing quickly moving closer to snatch his sword, not until the creature was right next to him.

Ichigo rolls around, swinging the blade in the process, managing to slash the hollow’s reaching arm, though not cutting it off as the wound wasn’t deep enough.

”How do you guys keep sneaking past our senses?”

It was more of a question to himself than the snarling hollow, which Ichigo doubted was able to really voice its intentions to him.

As expected, the hollow indeed doesn’t reply, just leaps at him, managing to grasp the blade and cling to it like an over sized monkey. Ichigo attempts to shake the thing off, but the added weight makes him stumble to the floor, and the two roll around, until the hollow falls off him, the blade in hand. It quickly gets up and sprints away through the window, heading to the nearby woods.

Ichigo jumps up and heads after it, running as fast as he could. He did not have a sword, but he could use kido to some level. So, Ichigo summons a glowing ball on his hand and throws it at the fiend, the attack landing on its back, making it stumble down and drop the blade. As Ichigo attempts to snatch it, the thing whips its tail again, wrapping it around his wrist and throwing him aside like a rag doll.

Ichigo saw stars from the impact with the ground, but he refuses to give up, and grabs the things tail as it attempts to flee again, using all his might to try and stop the creature. Of course, being a human, he simply wasn’t steong enough physically, which resulted in him sliding after the hollow as it ran, clinging onto the tail and trying to climb closer to get on its back. It was probably a slightly hilarious sight, but the situation was serious.

Eventually, the hollow grows irritated about the weight on its trail and stops, swinging it forward and throwing Ichigo in front of it.

The creature then pins his arms above his head, snarling right at Ichigo’s face. Shit, this was pretty bad; he could not move his hands enough to form a kido attack to deal with this. Ichigo did the only thing he could, trying to kick the damn thing off him. The creature didn’t budge, only snarled at him louder, sinking the claws from its other hand into his lower belly, making Ichigo gasp in pain.

Suddenly, he realized the thing was saying something.

It was a garbled noise, like someone was trying to talk with a slit throat, but Ichigo could make out the repeated word regardless.

**_”THIEF!”_ **

Thief?

Again, the same reaction the hollow Karin had dealt with had.

”I did not know the sword belonged to one of your kings!” Ichigo blurts out without thinking, and the hollow actually pauses for a second, before snarling at him again.

**_”THIEF THIEF THIEFTHIEFTHIEF!”_ **

The claws sank deeper into his flesh, and Ichigo’s vision was growing blurry and reddish from the edges.

Shit it hurt so bad.

 

 

Then, a blue glow appears, and the hollow is yanked off him, his body being lift up in the process as it took a second before the claws let go of his flesh with a disgusting sound. Ichigo falls back to the ground and gasps again, as a wave of pain washes trough him. He manages to open his eyes, and realizes that the spirit had finally come out again.

He was currently holding the struggling hollow by the throat, an unimpressed look on his face.

With a snort, the spirit grabs the hollow’s mask and rips it off, spreading blood everywhere.

Moments later, the creature disappears into that same dust they always did in human realm, and blue eyes turn to look down at the injured, panting figure on the ground. He walks beside Ichigo, taking a quick inventory on the panting Shinigami. The deep stab wounds on his belly looked really bad, and he was bleeding profusely.

_”Why the fuck are you so weak. It don’t make sense.”_

The spirit mutters more to himself than Ichigo, and then crouches down next to him, placing the clawed hand on his forehead. Ichigo’s heartbeat was thundering in his ears, as he did not know what the spirit was up to now.

_”Don’t resist this time alright? I can buy ya some time ta get you fixed. Believe me, this one's a doucey, and if you keep bleedin' all over the place, you'll die.”_

Ichigo just stares at him, his vision going blurrier by the minute.

A second later, he felt a familiar pressure pressing against his mind, and like the spirit said, he did not resist the take-over this time, far too weak to do so at the moment.

The wound on his side stops bleeding as his skin bleaches slowly, but the spirit knew all too well that he did not have enough energy to do a full heal like the first time he'd done this with the kid.

He gets up cautiously, holding the kid's injured side while looking around to gather proper bearing on where he was.

He had to drag this ginger’s body to somebody who could fix it. The claws had pierced pretty deep into his gut, probably punctured his stomach too, and knowing those types of fuckers like the long-tailed one, the claws probably had had poison in them as well.

This brat and his tendency to end up in trouble.

_”Oi. Kid, who’s the best healer you got?”_

He spoke to the owner of the body directly in his brain.

For a brief moment there was no answer, but eventually, came a weak voice, telling him to head for... that orange haired chick?

What the hell?

Knowing he did not have much time to question it, he starts walking the boy’s body towards the direction, unable to dash like he normally would as that could just make the injury worse. Why the spirit was doing this honestly, he had no clue, and he did not want to answer that question either right now.

 

 

Inoue was more than shocked to receive a harsh knock on her door late at night. Her shock turned to fear and worry as she opened the door, finding badly bleeding Ichigo in front of her. The second she opened the door, he collapsed to the ground, staining her floor with blood.

”O-oh gods! Ichigo!”

The girl looks around in panic at first, not knowing what to do. Then, she suddenly felt like something grasped her throat, forcing her still.

 

 

_Heal ’im. He’ll die otherwise._

 

 

A low voice echoes in her head, but she could not see anyone nearby.

She could sense however, that there was some sort of spiritual pressure right in front of her, and as she glanced at the sword beside Ichigo, the girl began to realize that whatever was holding her, likely came from it.

As the grasp on her neck disappears, Inoue quickly kneels down beside Ichigo and turns him on his belly.

She covers her mouth upon seeing the serious injury on him, but shakes her head and focuses, bringing out her orange healing power.

Slowly, the bleeding stops, and the injury starts to disappear, returning color on Ichigo’s face.

”W-what on earth happened?”

She stutters out, glancing towards Ichigo’s face. He was clearly unconscious, but at least no longer pale like a ghost. Once the girl was done, she manages to drag Ichigo indoors and place him on the carpet - he was too heavy for her to lift on the couch - and she also picks up the blue sword from the doorway to bring it next to him.

That’s when she finally sees it, the spirit standing on her house as she turns.

The girl freezes, as her entire body starts shaking.

He was tall, had a white body-armor like thing covering most of his body, and his feet were that of a feline.

Those along the ears would have been cute, had it not been the extremely sharp claws on his hands, and a stare that indicated this being was used to violence.

 

_”That’s a weird skill ya got there, girl.”_

 

The spirit tilts his head and smirks at her, a grin so menacing that she had to take a step back.

”W-wha....where...?”

The blue haired - or should she say _maned,_ given the sheer amount of hair he had - spirit snorts and nods towards the sword in her hand.

 

_”Put that thing down before you get hurt, dumbass.”_

 

Inoue could not understand what he meant at first, but then she felt it; the spiritual pressure emitting from the sword was so great it nearly burned her hands, and she quickly drops it with a yelp, checking her palms. Luckily they weren’t injured, but she still found hard to breathe due to the immense spiritual pressure in her house right now. The spirit tilts his head again, examining her with a slight predatory grin.

 

_”Yer oversensitive to this, aren’t you?”_

 

Inoue backs away again with a gulp, and nods after a moment.

The main reason she did not really join any hollow-fighting segments of the Shinigami order was the fact her senses were too sensitive for strong spiritual energy; some hollows could easily make her sick to her stomach or even make her faint. She had still wanted to do something to help given she was gifted, so Inoue had jpined the medic squad instead.

The spirit examines her silently for a few more moments, noting that the girl was starting to sway, as if she was about to pass out. Then, a groan from Ichigo gains their attention, and the spirit looks down at him with a miffed look, before snorting and disappearing from sight, literally melting back into the blue blade.

The second it stopped glowing, Inoue was able to breathe properly again, and she falls the floor, taking in large gulps of air.

Ichigo manages to open his eyes for a bit, and he looks at Inoue a little confused, before blacking out again.

 

 

 

 

_The ginger realized he was back inside that weird dream version of the Hueco Mundo palace._

_As he sits up, he realizes he was in a different part now; it was the throne room. The exception to reality was that the place was intact, all ten chairs stood there pristine, with one of them occupied. The spirit was sitting on it, or more like lying sideways, one leg resting on top of another with his hands behind his head. As Ichigo scrambles to his feet, one blue eye opens and peeks at him._

_”Mornin’ strawberry.”_

_Ichigo just glares at him for a moment, then frowns confused._

_”....Aren’t you going to throw me out of this place?”_

_”Even if I wanted to I can’t right now; helping yer sorry ass out in that state took too much energy from me. Besides, if I tried ta throw you out right now when yer so out of it, you’d suffer brain-damage. Not that it would make a big difference.”_

_The spirit smirks at him as Ichigo’s glare intensifies, and he shifts to sit properly when the ginger starts walking towards him, climbing the stairs up until he stood right in front of the blue haired spirit._

_He had so many questions to the being, but now that he’d FINALLY shown up and was even talkative to the point of being annoying, Ichigo was at a loss of words. It seemed to amuse the spirit as he leans his head against his palm, nudging Ichigo with one of his cat-like feet._

_”What? Cat got your tongue?”_

_If that pun was intentional....Who knew this aggressive fucker had a sense of humor?_

_”First; thanks for saving me, although I don’t quite understand why you did that.”_

_The spirit shrugs, shifting to lie back down the same way he had before, his tail whipping to ’accidentally’ smack Ichigo’s shoulder before draping over the armrest. If this spirit belonged to a king of sorts, then Ichigo could only imagine how shitty the king's attitude must have been when the zanpakuto spirit was already this bad._

_Not that the spirits always were exact portraits of their owners, but holy shit, there HAD to be similarities, because otherwise there was no way the owner could have stood this guy._

_”Felt like it.”_

_Ichigo bites his lip, and then shifts to sit down on the chair beside the spirit, next to his head._

_”You might wanna reconsider sitting there. Zommari was a loopy fucker and his germs might still be stuck there. Though it’s not as bad as Szayel.”_

_Ichigo just snorts and ignores his words - he did not understand their meaning anyway - sitting down and staring at the spirit._

_After a while, his glare clearly began to irritate the blunet, as he opens his eyes again and pushes to sit upright, turning so he was facing Ichigo properly now, an elbow resting against the armrest._

_”I saved your sorry ass, because I don’t wanna go back there and be stuck on the floor like some goddamn memorial when I ain’t even dead.”_

_Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that._

_”Memorial? Was that the reason why the zanpakuto was stuck on the floor like that?”_

_The spirit snorts and looks aside for a moment, clearly not wanting to talk about this._

_”....Some stupid fucker left it there like that to ’remember’ the shit that happened. Most hollows don’t come around the palace anymore, but those few who do seem to share that morons mindset.”_

_”....So those hollows... they are trying to take you back, because they think I stole some sort of memorial item?”_

_The spirit nods slightly, clearly irritated about the whole prospect._

_Ichigo turns his gaze away for a moment to ponder on this._

_He honestly felt bad now; had he known it was a memorial of sorts, he would have never touched the sword. Except...if he hadn’t, he would have never discovered this trapped spirit that was within it._

_”....I’ve been wondering.”_

_”Yeah, apparently you CAN think, shocker.”_

_Ichigo ignores the sarcasm and continues his musings._

_”There is a seal on the zanpakuto. I read into it and apparently it was used to completely trap spirits inside the object it was put upon. However...you seem to be partially free now.”_

_The spirit tenses, and Ichigo had a feeling he was edging closer towards a sour subject again._

_”I mean...I don’t think one would be able to break it just by touching it...”_

_The blue eyes examine him stoic for a moment, and then the spirit snorts and turns his back to Ichigo._

_”Maybe the damn thing was so old already it had decayed; hell if I know.”_

_Ichigo had a feeling the spirit had some sort of an idea about the answer, but he was not willing to share._

_Ichigo began to feel his mind turn hazy again; perhaps indicating he was waking up. He still had one last question to the spirit however._

_”Is your name Pantera?”_

_The blunet freezes again, and then glances at him over his shoulder._

_”Pantera’s dead.”_

_Before he could ask what that meant, Ichigo was whisked away back into the real world._

 

 

 

 

When Ichigo woke up, he found Inoue was not alone.

Urahara stood beside her, looking at Ichigo with a slight frown. He was lying on the girl’s couch now, and his clothes were still covered in blood, while the injury itself was gone thanks to Inoue.

”Oh, t-thank goodness you are okay!” Inoue gasps relieved, wiping her teary eyes.

”I...”

”I am guessing your state relates to the state Isane-san’s library is in.” Urahara comments calmly.

As Ichigo glances towards the window, he notes the sky was still dark; he had not been knocked out for too long it seems.

”You were in such a bad shape, wh-what happened?”

Ichigo pushes himself up slowly, or attempts anyway; the second he moves more upright, his head starts spinning and he has to lie back down with a groan.

”I was just... looking into something when this hollow appeared, trying to steal the zanpakuto.” Ichigo explains, then notices the glance Inoue gives the aforementioned blade.

There was a hint of fear in there.

”....I saw it. There is a spirit on that, right Kurosaki-kun?”

Ichigo’s eyes widen; Inoue had seen him?

It was not that surprising given how sensitive she was to spiritual energy, but if the seal in the sword did what it was supposed to, it was rather surprising that she had ended up witnessing him. Perhaps the blue haired spirit was correct about the seal decaying?

”Indeed. I assume you have known for a while now, haven’t you?”

Ichigo just sighs and nods, knowing there was no use denying it.

”Why didn’t you say anything?”

Inoue questions him still concerned, and Ichigo ponders his answer for a moment. Whenever or not the seal was breaking down, just why had the spirit let Inoue see him? ichigo was fairly certain that regardless of whenever the symbol worked, the being could hide himself from others if he wanted to.

”He was adamant that he did not want to be found.” Ichigo explains simply, figuring there was no better way of putting it.

Urahara hums, holding his chin for a moment.

”That...is understandable.”

Both gingers look at him confused, but the man just shakes his head, leaning against his cane now.

”I think... it is better if we do not speak of this incident to anyone. By that I mean, Inoue-chan, please do not tell anybody about what you witnessed.”

”Why?”

Urahara hums, glancing at the blade.

”What we are dealing with... is a rather delicate matter, and I believe it is for our best interest to respect His Majesty’s wishes for now.”

_His majesty?_

What the hell was Urahara talking about?

The sand blond haired man turns his attention back to Ichigo, clearly contemplating on something in his mind.

”...Please, if you can, keep using the zanpakuto. Perhaps we will be able to fill in some blanks, so to say, with his help. He might be more talkative towards you given certain circumstances regarding to your family history.”

Ichigo had no fucking clue what Urahara was about, but once again, he knew there was no point in trying to demand answers. He’d get them eventually if Urahara deemed it necessary, or he would never get them at all. That’s just how it went.

”May he stay here overnight again, Inoue-chan? I’ll let his family know that Kurosaki-san ended up in a bind again and needed your assistance.”

The girl nods after a moment, still gazing at Ichigo concerned.

”I’ll let Isane know there was another hollow attack in her library, and that no one was hurt.”

”You should probably get her some help to clean the mess up as well.” Ichigo points out, still feeling bad about the books the hollow had destroyed.

”I’ll lend Ginta and Ururu for her for that.”

Ichigo could not stop but have a feeling that those two would just make the mess worse, but he said nothing on it, just nodding with a sigh.

 

 

Once he felt stabler, Ichigo helped Inoue to get him some bedsheets to sleep on the couch. The girl offered to give him the bed instead, but the ginger insisted on sleeping on the sofa. ”I have done it before anyway just recently, it’s fine.”

Ichigo lied back to the couch after telling Inoue goodnight, subconsciously watching for his injured side, even if the injury was completely gone by now. His mind kept drifting back on Urahara’s words over and over again, and what he’d learned from the spirit.

Memorials were kept for somebody who had perished; by all means, all signs pointed towards the zanpakutos original owner being the one being honored by it. Granted, not all hollows seemed to know - or care about - the significance regarding to the blade being there, given how Shrieker and his buddy had busted in without care when chasing Ichigo.

However, the spirit had spoken about it as if it was meant specifically for _him._

While it was true zanpakuto spirits were pieces of their owners, they were still separate entities, and one would not remember the zanpakuto spirit, as they specifically only perished if their master did.

Sans those who had to be destroyed due to insanity, according to the book he'd read, apparently.

Plus... Urahara had referred to the spirit as ’His Majesty.’

Ichigo sighs and digs out the diary from his inner pocket; it was a miracle the thing had stayed there during the whole showdown with the slippery hollow.

As he flips trough the pages, he comes across the one with the name again.

 

_Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez._

 

It did not make sense, and the same time it began to seem like the only reasonable explanation. The only thing against this theory was the spirit’s appearance; he looked barely like the figure portrayed in the murals. Ichigo doubted that whoever painted those could have gotten it this wrong. Ichigo sighs and puts the diary away, figuring this was something he should think about tomorrow, as he was still exhausted from his ordeal. He needed to get some rest, again.

Hopefully ending up on Inoue’s doorstep unconscious would not become a theme.

 

 

 

 

”Why are there hollows trying to get that sword?” Yoruichi ask as Urahara arrives back to the house.

”There can be several reasons, but one is for certain; Kurosaki-san has stumbled upon something big, that can have enormous consequences in the future.”

The tan skinned woman shakes her head irritated; she was really tired of this mystery rhetoric the man used when talking about this subject. So, the woman proceeds to jump off from the table she was sitting on, reaching for Urahara and pulling on his nose painfully, while holding a hand on her hip.

”Kisuke, stop talking so secretively! You know you can trust me so just tell me what you mean!”

”Oww oww oww! Pwease do led go and I’ll dell you!”

Yoruichi releases him, and the man rubs his reddened nose with a pouty expression, before sitting down to the free chair next to the table, leaning his cane against his knee. ”That spirit in the blue zanpakuto, he holds a key to the lost years of the Shinigami order.”

Yoruichi blinks in surprise, placing her palms against the table and leaning closer curiously.

”The timeline that we don’t have much documents about from around 300 years ago? Aside from that book you asked me to bring to Ichigo.”

This particular topic had been something Kisuke had researched about enthusiastically for years now, although in secret; there had seemed to be people who wished to keep the mystery centure as that, a mystery, so he rarely shared his knowledge and findings with others when it came to the time period. In fact, aside from his assistant Tessai, Yoruichi was the only other insider who knew more. 

As for the notebook she'd delivered to Ichigo's hands secretly per Kisuke's request, Yoruichi still wasn’t exactly sure just why A) Kisuke had had a Shiba family heirloom, as it should have either been with Isshin or in the museum archives and B) why he’d wanted Ichigo to see it.

”Yes. In fact, based on the description Kurosaki-san has given me of the spirit, he may in fact be the one Kaien-san spoke off in his diary.”

Yoruichi’s eyes widen slowly, as she sees where he was going with this.

”That mystery friend of his from Hueco Mundo? Why would his soul be stuck in a random blade?”

Urahara shakes his head with an amused smile, and proceeds to explain before the woman could grab his nose again and complain about his habit of being secretive.

”Firstly; I believe that zanpakuto in fact belongs to Kaien's friend. Secondly, I am not entirely sure, but I believe his soul being stuck in it may relate to Kaien’s last entry in his diary.”

Yoruchi frowns at that; she had red the weird diary once herself - she’d felt kind of bad about it given it was Shiba family heirloom, but she’d been curious - and most of it was baffling, talking about kings and queens in Hueco Mundo, even though they had no record of such thing existing.

Or rather, they had been wiped off the record.

The last entry had been the strangest however, as it had mentioned a name Yoruichi recognized.

Aizen Sousuke, a folk hero that they all learned about in Shinigami school, and even commoners told stories about his heroic feats to their children.

What Kaien had spoken off in his dairy, was anything but heroic sounding.

”Why do you insist on having Ichigo keep that sword then?”

Urahara pauses, then looks at her seriously from behind his fan.

”By the time that king is released back unto this world, it depends on Kurosaki-san whenever he’ll forgive us, or try to burn the Shinigami order down to the ground."

Yoruichi's frown deepens; that did not sound good at all, and given the serious somber expression Kisuke had, it indicated that he fully believed this spirit/Hueco Mundoan could really cause destruction to their home if he chose to do so.

"I believe Kurosaki-san’s connection to Kaien Shiba mellows his majesty’s fury towards us, and perhaps he'll even listen to Kurosaki. The fact he has been... aiding Isshin's son as much as he has so far, it might be a good sign.”

Yoruichi frowns, as there was still one thing about this whole thing she did not understand.

”Forgive us, for what exactly? Kisuke, what did we, or our ancestors do?”

The blond haired man turns his gaze towards the window; daybreak was still hours away, but he did not feel tired at all.

”We stabbed them in the back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor berry just keeps getting injured. Maybe Grimmjow can teach him how to use his spiritual energy correctly someday.   
> More Lore, yay!  
> Ichigo is about to finally connect the dots, don't you think? At least when it comes to just who exactly is the cranky spirit in his "borrowed" weapon.


	7. Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo deals his dad's typical antics while dealing with exhaustion from last night's ordeal.  
> Then, the spirit drops a bombshell

That morning Ichigo woke up feeling rather weak, which according to Orihime, was likely due to his injury from last night having been rather serious; even if she’d healed it, the exhaustion was still there.

The girl looked apologetic as she explained this, so Ichigo squeezed her should reassuringly, telling her that she did fine. After breakfast, the ginger heads back home, though his pace was slower than usual due to his slight dizzy spells that forced him to stop and take a breather at times.

Once Ichigo finally did made it home, Isshin forced him personally to apologize to Isane for wrecking the library - even if it wasn’t really his fault per say, the hollow did it - and he scolded the boy profusely, telling him that no gentleman would cause such trouble to a lady.

Given he did not seem overly concerned like he probably should have been normally when taking into account the kind of injury Ichigo had suffered from last night, the young man figured Urahara had not mentioned to his father how serious his injury had been.

That, or Isshin was too used to Ichigo ending up in a pinch, so he did not bother to worry about it as long as his boy was no longer dying.

Perhaps it was a good thing that his father was not as overprotective over him as he was with Karin and Yuzu; Ichigo did not need his dad to freak out and try to wrap him in pillows or some shit like that.

Despite Orihime healing it with her special ability, his side still hurt, and eating was kind of hard. Karin noted that Ichigo did not eat much for breakfast, but asked nothing, figuring it related to the incident from last night. She did not really want to hear the details, as knowing her brother they could be pretty gruesome. He had a habit of getting seriously injured, and the only reason one could not notice it from his body was thanks to Inoue’s highly powerful healing ability.

Otherwise, Ichigo would probably at least be armless by now.

”I’m gonna go and take a nap; I stayed up late last night anyway.”

Ichigo informs his family and paces upstairs; glancing at the box he’d placed the diary and the sword in again. No hollow had popped up in their house again as of yet, but he was fairly certain there would be more of those showing up, trying to get their hands on it. If the sword had been empty, Ichigo would have returned it in an instant. But, he did not want to doom the spirit into being stuck there for all eternity, alone, no matter how nasty his attitude was.

Plus...it clearly felt like Urahara wanted him to keep it and do something regarding to the spirit, even if Ichigo wasn’t sure what.

With a sigh he slumps to the bed and just gazes at the ceiling, up until his eyelids start drooping. Ichigo could not remember the last time he'd been this exhausted. Then again, he had been dealing with several more severe injuries in just few days apart, more so than he usually did. First there had been the beating he'd gotten in Hueco Mundo, then having to deal with the two from the town, and now this. Usually he did not get knocked out this often.

_”So that’s why you’re all baby-skinned. Whatever shit you get yourself into, she can fix all of it.”_

Ichigo almost jumps upon hearing the rough voice, not from within his head but _beside_ him.

He turns his head, finding the spirit sitting at the feet end of his bed, amused smirk on his lips. The young man glances towards his door, but could hear his family was still downstairs, preparing to leave for their daily activities. Yuzu was healed now so she’d head to school as well.

”Yeah. I would have died many times over already if it wasn’t for her. You scared her pretty bad it seems by the way.” Ichigo responds quietly just in case.

The spirit snorts and cracks his neck, looking at him with a disinterested look.

_”Her own fault fer touching something she’s sensitive for.”_

Ichigo was not sure what that meant, nor did it really matter.

”Why are you suddenly talking to me? You avoided me for over a week.”

The spirit shrugs, informing him that he grew bored.

Ichigo somehow doubted that was the main reason. He’d been alone for a long time in all likeness, so being by yourself in silence probably wasn’t anything new. The concept of boredom sort of lost its meaning in that situation.

”.....I want to ask you something.”

The blue eyes look at him with half-lidded, bored gaze, but he doesn’t tell the ginger not to do it.

”Earlier, you said that....when I asked about your name, if it was Pantera, you said Pantera was dead.”

The spirit remains stoic, just examining him quietly.

It was honestly even more unnerving than the crazy smirk, because now you could not tell what he was thinking.

”But...based on my ancestor’s diary... Pantera was the spirit of that sword, a female spirit.”

The blunet tilts his head lightly, but still says nothing.

”If Pantera indeed was female, and she is dead now.... _who are you_ , really?”

Ichigo goes quiet and just waits, noting that his heart was beating a little bit faster now. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, the blunet’s face twists into an amused smirk, and he starts chuckling, a low, twisted laughter that made chill travel down Ichigo’s spine.

_”Kid. Stop playing dumb. You figured it out the second ya saw my pretty face in those murals.”_

The blunet grins at him, but there was a hint of bitterness to the expression as well as his voice.

Ichigo sucks in a deep breath and looks him in the eyes, just to see if there was any hint of deceit in them once he said his next words.

 

 

”You’re _not_ the spirit of this blade. You are the _owner_. You’re...Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez, aren’t you? The man my ancestor mentions in his diary a lot.”

 

 

The spirit just stares back at him, his gaze unwavering from the brown orbs looking at him.

 _”And if I am?”_ He finally responds with a quiet voice, not looking at Ichigo directly.

”.....Well, I kind of wonder how did you end up like this.”

The blunet lifts his gaze at Ichigo again, and examines him quietly for a moment. Finally, he snorts, cracking his neck with a mildly irritated expression.

_”Keep wonderin’ kid, cause I ain’t talking to a fucking SHINIGAMI about something they very well should know about.”_

Ichigo frowns at that comment.

”That’s the thing, I don’t know.”

_”That’s not my fucking problem.”_

The ginger sighs irritated and rubs his eyes.

Why did this spirit have to be so stubborn?

Spirit, king, hollow, whatever he was.

”...Can you at least tell me one thing?”

The blunet glances at him, clearly not eager on sharing any information with Ichigo. He did not tell the young man to not bother asking, so Ichigo takes a dare.

”Those murals. Right now you look nothing like you did in them. Why?”

The blunet actually smirks lightly at him, clearly amused by the kind of weird, out-of-blue question that honestly wasn't the most important right now.

_”What? Not showing enough skin for ya?”_

Ichigo splutters and glares at him with slightly heated face, gaining a light snicker from the uncooperative spirit. However, as he examined the blunet’s face more closely, he noted the spirit was tense, and he’d shifted to sit in a more closed-up position, bending his leg and leaning his arm on it, creating a sort of barrier between them.

It was... strange.

Like he was trying to hide.

_”It’s a combat-form, so what?”_

”Why do you stay in it? Or is it that you can’t change back?”

It felt weird in his eyes to stay in battle form constantly.

_”I can.”_

Ichigo’s frown even deepened. Wouldn't staying in such a form drain a lot of energy from you, even if you were a spirit trapped within a sword?

_”There are some things I don’t wanna show ta people, kid.”_

Grimmjow suddenly mutters out, not looking at him. His hand reaches to slightly brush against his chest, likely out of reflex, at the spot where Ichigo could see a slight bit of scarring. The ginger was about to ask more, when a knock came from his door, and the spirit disappears from sight, back into the blade.

It was Yuzu, asking if he needed anything.

It was clear that his sisters sensed that whatever had happened last night had been a bit more serious than what Urahara had let on based on how Ichigo at times brushed his stomach, and how exhausted he was.

”I’m fine, thanks for asking Yuzu.”

The girl lingers on the doorway for a bit, clearly wanting to say something, but eventually choosing to do otherwise.

”Have a nice nap.”

She tells him before closing the door behind her and heading back downstairs.

Ichigo flops on his back with a sigh, processing the new information he now had.

So.

The spirit was not in fact a zanpakuto spirit, but the OWNER of the zanpakuto, who apparently was some sort of royalty, and had been friends with his ancestor.

What on earth had happened that had led to this situation?

Ichigo had a strong feeling that the symbol on the blade, the destruction in that palace, and the lack of knowledge regarding to the lost years, it was all connected somehow.

His gaze drifts back towards the box that had the blade and the notebook in it. He was tempted to read it some more, but he also felt really exhausted; ichigo doubted he would be able to even read properly right now, given the way lights danced in his eyes and he couldn't really focus his gaze properly. Perhaps he should take the advice and get some sleep first, then process this later when his brain didn't feel so mushy.

 

 

 

_He did not like it, not one bit._

_The kid was too fucking curious for his own good. Not that he'd been surprised; the second the carrot bastard had told him they'd examined the palace, he KNEW the fucker would connect the dots sooner or later._

_Honestly, the only thing stopping him from trying to strangle the bastard in his sleep was the fact he was related to Kaien._

_It pissed him off so much, how similar they looked and acted._

_...Well, not entirely; Kurosaki clearly had naivety Kaien had lacked._

_He was also way more irritating somehow, which was a feat as Grimmjow could count the days when he DIDN’T want to blow the raven haired bastard’s head off in the past with one hand._

_There was also the obvious, obnoxious hair-color difference._

_Seriously, how the fuck did the kid have such hair when he was related to Kaien?_

_It had to be his mum’s side._

_Come to think of it... he had not seen a woman in the house._

_The two little brats yes, but no sign of a mother. He shakes his head, stopping that train of thought instantly. Why the fuck did he even care, if the kid had a mum or not? T_

_he spirit lies back down on his throne, crossing his arms behind his head._

_Annoyingly, this brief rogue thought had opened the shit-storm that was called his memory once again, and he couldn’t stop his mind from drifting._

 

 

 

**_”You’d think a fuckin’ Shinigami would have better things ta do.”_ **

**_The blue haired man snorts as he walks beside the raven haired shinigami, eagerly scribbling away to his notebook._ **

**_Kaien looks up at his companion with a slight smile, like greeting an old friend. In his mind they apparently were friends, even if Grimmjow disagreed with that._ **

**_He just stood this Shinigami better than others, that’s all there was to it._ **

**_”As a human, it is good to be able to focus on other things for a change, rather than constant battles. I suppose for someone like you this sounds gibberish though.”_ **

**_Grimmjow snorts and rolls his eyes at the jab, turning his attention towards the horizon._ **

**_They were standing at the edge of the palace wall, just watching over the giant desert that was Hueco Mundo. A group of Shinigami had shown up recently to work together on an issue regarding to some sort of new kind of poisoning from a hollow or some shit like that. Grimmjow did not care either way. The second he’d seen this bastard’s stupid face heading out by himself, he had to follow._ **

**_Kaien had a bad habit of being overly curious and ending up in shitty situations because of it._ **

**_Granted, he was strong, but this was Grimmjow’s home-turf._ **

**_He was not... concerned by any means; the blunet just liked rubbing it in Kaien’s face when he saved his ass._ **

**_”Do you think they can heal her?” Kaien asks after a moment of hesitation, clearly concerned for his comrade._ **

**_Grimmjow shrugs, not looking at him._ **

**_”Szayel’s workin’ on it. He’s the best we got.”_ **

**_Kaien hums and turns his gaze back towards the desert._ **

**_”The fuck were you writing about now?”_ **

**_”Aside from what happened recently, and my thoughts on the current situation, nothing.”_ **

**_Grimmjow lifts eyebrow at that; usually when he asked this question, the bastard would inquire him about something relating to Hueco Mundo, or ask for a translation on something he’d seen. In fact, in general he seemed kind of uneasy, and Grimmjow had a gut feeling it was not just the state his buddy was in._ **

**_”Alright, hit me, the fuck’s with you now?”_ **

**_”What makes you think something is wrong?”_ **

**_”Yer not being nosy. That means something is DEFINITELY wrong.”_ **

**_Kaien gazes up at him for a moment, then starts laughing, that weird fond laugh that Grimmjow never got used to hearing. It was fucking weird, having somebody be so amused about his crude comments._ **

**_”No, I suppose you are right.” He sighs after a moment and gazes at his feet, dangling over the edge for a moment._ **

**_”It’s my wife. She is... not feeling well, and given she is pregnant...”_ **

**_”That’s a shit way ta make offspring, if just a lil flu can go an’ kill ’em.”_ **

**_Any other person would have gotten mad about this comment, but Kaien just chuckles a bit, figuring that he did have a point of sorts._ **

**_”It is not a flu per say; she’s always had a weaker health, and I just...I fear she’ll end up dying when she gives birth.”_ **

**_This was another weird thing about Kaien, sharing shit like this with Grimmjow, a man he KNEW could not understand his worry and fear. His kindred, while they did get intimate for pleasure, did not produce offspring like humans did. Grimmjow was not born like a human child would, he never had parents. He could never understand a father’s worry for their child, or the mother for that matter._ **

**_He could not understand why would anyone put what he essentially saw as a parasite willingly into their bodies, only to have it come out and STILL be a bother for the next several years. No, Grimmjow did not understand the concept at all._ **

**_Yet, Kaien confined his worry to the blunet, like it was perfectly normal thing to do._ **

**_The weirdest part was, that Grimmjow did not try and prod at this weak spot as strongly as he normally would._ **

**_”Well, I doubt moping about it is gonna help.” Grimmjow comments with a shrug, gaining an agreeing sigh from Kaien, who gazes the scenery with a melancholic look._ **

**_His droopy face was annoying to see, because it make him look far weaker than what he truly was._ **

**_”....I was hoping that perhaps I could introduce you to the child, but...”_ **

**_”Now that would be a terrific idea; your wife was jumping in joy when she met me.”_ **

**_Grimmjow comments sarcastically, recalling that incident; the woman had literally passed out because his spiritual pressure was too much for her mind to handle._ **

**_Kaien laughs and looks at him apologetic, for he had not foreseen that event either. He had known his wife was somewhat spiritually sensitive, but he had never thought that someone of her low level of skill could be overwhelmed like that. The less sensitive one was, the more resistant they usually were to spiritual pressure by default, although this could easily be cultivated trough training, as otherwise Shinigamis would be fainting left and right due to their high sensitivity._ **

**_He’d concluded his wife had passed out due to combination of spiritual sensitivity and weak health._ **

**_”No, seriously. It’s a dumb idea. NOBODY should want someone like me near their kid.”_ **

**_Grimmjow reminds him with a glare, but Kaien just smiles up at his perceived friend._ **

**_”You don’t give yourself enough credit.”_ **

**_”And yer giving too much of it to yer brain.”_ **

**_Kaien just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, putting the notebook back into his shinigami robes and getting up, stretching his arms a bit._ **

**_”I suppose I should head back before they question where I am.”_ **

**_He was smiling, but Grimmjow could tell the damn dumbass was still tense with worry._ **

**_He did not try to comfort the man any further, there was no need._ **

**_Kaien never expected it from him, he just appreciated that the sixth king listened to him._ **

 

 

 

 

 

Ichigo woke up to commotion downstairs.

He sits up and looks around hazily in confusion. Moments later, Yuzu dashes in from the doorway, looking panicked.

”Ichi-nii! It’s _terrible!”_

”What, what happened?”

He asks, slipping off from the bed.

”Dad got injured in a battle, please hurry!”

She grabs his arm before Ichigo could even blink, and drags him downstairs, where they find Isshin on the couch.

He had honestly gotten truly worried, thinking it was serious.

Ichigo stops and just stares however, once he sees what the problem was. Isshin was on his belly, with what was hundreds of hedgehog-like spikes stuck on his ass.

”It’s horrible! He ran into this hollow with spines, and it attacked him with them!”

Ichigo just stares at Isshin, who was currently getting those spikes pulled out of him by Karin, yelping each time she yanked one out.

”....They aren’t even poisonous are they?”

Ichigo comments dryly, staring at his dad who greets him with an enthusiastic smile.

”Good day Sonny, are you - ouchie! - feeling better now?”

Ichigo just stares at him dully, then releases a long-suffering sigh and rubs his eyes.

Seriously, this old fool...

”Don’t just stand there Ichigo! Help me!” Karin tells him, yanking another spike off from her father’s butt, making the man yelp.

The ginger sighs and walks beside Karin, helping her to get rid of the nasty sharp objects stuck on his father’s rear. Perhaps anyone else would have been too baffled by the situation to really process it and do something, but Ichigo was all too used to these silly antics.

By the time they were done, Karin drops an ice-pack on their father’s butt, shaking her head equally unimpressed like Ichigo.

”Boy, that was a _sharp_ turn of events!”

Isshin chuckles and then yelps as Karin slaps him in the head for the terrible pun.

Ichigo sighs and walks to the kitchen to make himself some tea.

He was still lightly tired, but he could no longer go back to sleep, knowing he had to make sure that the old fart would not try to move around too much and let his butt heal.

Once the tea is done, he sits down to the kitchen table and sipping from his cup.

”This is such a bad timing; dad was supposed to bring us to the history exhibition today!” Yuzu states with a pouty face, and Karin rolls her eyes; she was not as into the Shinigami history as her sister was.

Right, they had recently finished the renovations on the museum, and were going to have the grand re-opening this evening.

Ichigo had _completely_ forgotten all about it, but he could now recall of their dad promising to take her there months before once it would open.

”Sorry Yuzu-chan, papa cannot really move around due to this sticky, or should I say, spiky situati...oof!”

His sentence is cut short midway, as Karin throws a pillow at him.

Isshin gives her a pouty look, then his expression brightens as he turns to look at Ichigo.

”Perhaps you could take her there tonight?”

”Come on dad; Ichi-nii is still weak from last night’s ordeal.” Karin reminds their father, gaining a childish pouty look from him.

The ginger sighs, and glances at Yuzu who was giving him the sad puppy look, much to Karin’s dismay.

”Fine. I’ll just take a nap on daytime and I should be able to go.”

Yuzu’s expression brightens and he jumps to hug her brother, nearly making him spill his tea all over himself. Ichigo chuckles a bit at her enthusiasm, hugging her back with one arm.

”Perhaps if you go in your Shinigami robe, they’ll let you have some extra free food.” Karin proposes with a smirk, making Ichigo roll his eyes.

”Actually, I heard they sort of wish the Shinigami to attend in their uniforms as a sign of respect to the fallen ancestors they memorize there.”

Isshin mentions, rubbing his chin as if he’d just recalled it.

The man attempts to shift on his back, but is forced to roll back on his belly as his rear still hurt too much.

”Seriously. Only our dad could end up with an ice pack on his butt.”

Karin sighs and shakes her head, gaining a giggle from Yuzu, and a slight smile from Ichigo.

 

 

 

In the end, Ichigo did head out in his shinigami outfit for the event, figuring it would be polite to do as the rest of those who'd show up likely did it too.

After a moment of hesitation, he’d decided to take the blue blade with him just in case, feeling a bit more secure - even with Urahara’s box - if it was with him when he left the house. The spirit had not shown himself since this morning, when he’d revealed - or rather Ichigo had deduced - his identity.

It was honestly quite a big deal, but Ichigo had not had time to process the stunning information properly yet, not given how their conversation was interrupted by his father’s silly antics, and after that he’d ended up sleeping for several hours, just to try and be in a passable shape to bring Yuzu here. After that, he’d been preparing for the event with Yuzu, making dinner for Karin ad Isshin who’d stay at home, so Ichigo still had not had time to think it trough.

He did not have the time now either, given Yuzu was trying to turn his attention to the event at hand.

The whole place was tidied up now, and covered in decorations.

There were a lot of people chatting, drinking and eating the offered goods, and just looking around the old artifacts, murals and stories on the walls curiously.

Yuzu dragged him around the place, wanting to see everything and anything there was, to the point ichigo did not have that much time to grab a bite to eat or a drink, not that he really needed it right now; he was still not up to eating much anyway.

Ichigo was perhaps slightly more interested than he usually would, given the blade on his belt.

However, for his slight - not not surprising - disappointment, there was no mention whatsoever of the palace, let alone the term Espada that Kaien had mentioned in his diary. There were placates about Kaien Shiba himself however, once they enter the room dealing with the limited information of that time period.

All of it was what Ichigo already knew from his history classes; Kaien Shiba, the head of the family at that time, had been a well renowned Shinigami with fairly powerful spiritual abilities. There were several chronicles about his achievements, although how much of those were true, no one could say for certain.

Ichigo knew somebody who probably could, but he doubted the person wanted to talk to him about this.

However, the room dedicated to Kaien Shiba was modest compared to the next one.

One of the largest halls of this exhibition was dedicated fully to another man, a Shinigami who had lived around the same time as Kaien, only he had been even more powerful and well-known, so much so that he had become a true folk hero to so many people, overshadowing any other notable person there was.

Sousuke Aizen, the man who’d fought against an army of hundreds of extremely powerful hollows all by himself, and wan.

Nobody knew truly if the story was true, but he had become such an iconic figure that nobody questioned the truthfulness of the stories about him anymore.

He, like Kaien, had been slain in battle against a powerful hollow, but according to legends he’d managed to destroy several of those creatures beforehand, and his death had not been caused by the opponent per say, but his own exhaustion.

”He was such a great hero! I wish I could have met him.” Yuzu comments, examining the scroll painting portraying the aforementioned man.

He had brown eyes and a calm, almost gentle smile. Ichigo had always had mixed feelings about the figure; while he was always described as heroic and benevolent, and even portrayed as such, there was always something about his eyes from these portraits, that made him uneasy.

He looked like someone with something to hide.

”Maybe you can become as strong as he was someday, Ichi-nii!”

Ichigo just hums, pacing closer to another painting about the man, where he was in the heat of a battle.

For some reason, Ichigo's mind drifted back to the mural that had portrayed Grimmjow in similar manner, and there were clear differences; the way Aizen was shown, facing a beast above him directly with a serious frown, it looked almost gracious.

The way Grimmjow had been portrayed, he’d looked fierce and near animalistic, with the corpses littered on his feet, fingers curled up in his free hand like claws.

He’d also smiled.

A fiery, _feral_ grin that reminded Ichigo of the smirks he had seen from the spirit so far.

His eyes drift towards the hollow in the picture. It was said to be the one that ended up killing him; a long, white hair covered the back of the creatures head, horns protruding from it’s head and pointing forward like those of a bull, with long, lizard like tail on the back. It had a fur-collar on its outfit, sort of like what Ichigo had seen on the murals portraying Grimmjow in more human appearance.

The thought made him frown, and he examines the hollow figure more closely.

....Nah.

While there were some minor similarities like the excessively long hair, a fur collar and a tail, that was about it. This hollow was bulkier, covered in spikes and its face was completely masked, whereas you could clearly see Grimmjow’s face.

His gaze drifts towards the placard beside the image, and he reads the text mildly curious.

 

_”Aizen was said having fought hundreds and hundreds of hollows, before coming face-to-face with the one simply referred as ’Shiro’ whom eventually ended up taking his life. He had taken this extraordinary burden upon his shoulders to try and end the never-ending threat from these monsters by facing their strongest ones all by himself, hoping to defeat all of them and show the creatures that humans would not falter and fear them anymore. In the end, he was slain by the white monstrosity, due to having lost too much energy in his endless quest. Sousuke Aizen’s efforts were not for naught, for the next century, Hollow attacks became a lot less frequent, for the beings had learned to fear their opponent, the Shinigami. All thanks to one man.”_

 

 

Ichigo hums at the text; sure he had heard about the story of Aizen fighting against a hollow like this, but he had never really paid proper attention during those classes, so it sort of felt like he was learning this properly for the first time.

”He should not have burdened himself alone with all this. Maybe he could have survived and have a family of his own. How cool that would have been? Having a legendary hero as your ancestor!”

Yuzu comments with starry eyes, making Ichigo remind her that they were related to Kaien who was also a renowned Shinigami.

”I know, it’s just not the same.”

Ichigo sighs as they venture further in the room, soon catching a glimpse of the main attraction in the room that attracted a lot of people.

A replica of Aizen’s zanpakuto, _Kyōka suigetsu_ , was displayed in the middle of the room, and several people were examining it eagerly.

”Come on, let’s go check it out!”

Yuzu grasps his hand and drags Ichigo closer with her. In the end though, she sneaked next to it by herself as Ichigo could not fit through the crowd like she did.

For a moment, Ichigo just watches the enthusiastic crowd, and especially Yuzu, with an amused smile.

Then, as his eyes drift up at the sword he could barely make out from behind people’s heads, intense pressure hit his mind, and Ichigo stumbles back against a wall, holding his head as it felt like it was going to burst.

”G-Grimmjow, what are you...?!”

A second later, he could feel a massive burst of spiritual pressure emanate from the sword, and it shattered every single glass anywhere near them, including the windows, the exhibition covers, the glasses people held, and so on.

The lights above them shattered as well, leaving the crowd in panic.

 

 

_A hero? **DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH YOU BASTARDS.**_

 

 

The spirit’s intensely angry voice echoed in his brain, it was so loud that it drowned out all the noise around Ichigo, and he gasps, his vision blurred with pained tears as his head felt like it was going to explode.

He was bleeding from his nose again.

As he manages to turn his attention towards the panicked, confused crowd, he sees Yuzu managing to get away from the horde and turn to look at him with spooked expression. Then, another wave bursts out from the zanpakuto, and Ichigo watches in horror as people around him start passing out, holding their heads like he did, some even bleeding slightly.

The fake sword whose glass-case had broken began to vibrate, up until it shattered, sending shrapnel to the crowd still around him.

Shit, he had to get away before Grimmjow’s sudden intense fury would _really_ hurt somebody.

Ichigo turns on his heels and runs to the door the fastest he could, still holding his head.

 

Once he is out, the pain starts to subside, but he keeps running into the woods, up until he could no longer see the lights of the museum.

Ichigo stops and slumps against a tree, breathing harshly.

His hand reaches for the zanpakuto, in an attempt to yank it off his waist to hopefully ease his suffering, but it was too hot for his touch, almost like the blade was physically vibrating the intense fury the spirit within was taken over by at the moment.

He could hear an angry, mad cackle echo in his head, and it sounded like the spirit was losing it.

”What the hell was that? Why did...why did you...”

Next thing he knew, he’s yanked around and Grimmjow presses him against the tree by his throat, claws digging into his skin.

Despite being a spirit, the grip felt probably the most _real_ it ever had so far, and Ichigo felt his face pale as he saw the expression the man had.

He’d had many close calls with death before, but right now it felt like he was staring the grim-reaper right in the face.

That, or a psychotic monster that had lost last bits of its sanity just now.

Grimmjow’s lips were in a wide, mad grin, and his eyes held such intense hatred and fury that it felt like he could burn a hole trough your skull, brain, and very soul with just his eyes. His body was also shaking lightly, and the blue aura he always emitted danced uncontrollably around him.

_”You bastards. You sure have the nerve.”_

His voice was quieter than usual, and it still had the slight twisted cackle to it, which was probably the most unnerving sound Ichigo had ever heard of. He attempts to gasp the spirits arm to yank it off him, but the second he touches the white bone armor, he yanks his arm back with a hiss, as it burned.

 

_”You praise that bastard as a fuckin’ hero, put his goddamn blade on a fucking pedestal like its some holy relic...it’s DISGUSTING.”_

 

Ichigo attempts to calm his nerves and stares Grimmjow right back in his eyes

. ”Why, what did he ever do to you?”

The spirit lets out another unstable cackle and lets go of him to pace around like a caged animal.

Technically speaking, he kind of was one, but that was besides the point.

 

_”You really ARE fucking ignorant about everything, kid. Not that I should be surprised.”_

 

He turns and tilts his head, flashing Ichigo even madder grin, if that was even possible.

The Shinigami stays glued to the tree, too uneasy to move.

_”They would not want the lil kiddies to know their ’hero’ is nothin’ but a mass-murderer.”_

”I don’t understand.”

Grimmjow shakes his head, and marches back to Ichigo, this time grabbing his jaw to make the young man look at him.

_”Who do you THINK did this to me? To all of us? We gave you what you have now, Shinigami, and YOU betrayed us!” _

The blunet hisses at him, his aura weighing heavily against Ichigo once again, making his head hurt like crazy.

”...You gave us...what?”

He manages to stutter out, the pain in his head so great it was making talking difficult.

Grimmjow releases his jaw and slips his hand to rest beside Ichigo’s head.

The spirit was so close that Ichigo would have perhaps felt embarrassed, had he not been terrified first and foremost.

_”Where do you think you fuckers got your little soul-swords? WE taught you have to make them. Then YOU tried ta kill us.”_

Ichigo’s eyes widen in shock as Grimmjow’s words start to register into his aching mind.

The blue eyes burned into him with an intensity of near hellfire, although the anger was not aimed at him specifically.

It as aimed towards Shinigami as a whole.

 

_” We gave you your best weapon against those of us who bothered ta try an’ devour your weak little souls. Then you went and back-stabbed us, sending that bastard to destroy our home, killin’ most of the Espada, sealing me into that damn sword I’m supposed to be the wielder of.”_

 

Grimmjow near spats at his face, his growl growing in volume with each angry, bitter word he threw at the stunned young shinigami.

 

_”And then you just covered it all up. Pretending nothing happened. Like we never existed.”_

 

Those last words are quiet, just a whispering snicker, sounding bitter and lost rather than joyful or even angry.

After that, he falls silent, just standing there, his body still shaking with anger.

The pain in Ichigo’s mind subsides, but before he could reach out or say a word, the spirit steps away from him and disappears, leaving the zanpakuto feeling like it was completely sealed again.

Ichigo slumps to the ground and just stares at the grass, eyes wide in utter shock.

”They....they taught us how to...?”

Ichigo brings his hands up, noting they were shaking.

Was... was all of that _true?_

Seconds later, he slumps to the ground and passes out, earlier ordeal and attack towards his mind too much for him to handle right now.

Last thing Ichigo saw was a figure walking towards him with a cane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have NO IDEA How eagerly I've been waiting to write the end scene here, where Grimmjow reveals this detail to Ichigo. It's a pretty big reveal into the lore of this storyline after all.  
> I just hope I can keep all the details I've planned in mind; I always have this risk with my stories where I mention something but then nearly forget to address it later on like I planned.  
> Let's hope it doesn't happen here xD


	8. Memories and stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo discovers more things and sees things he realizes he didn't necessarily want to.

When Ichigo woke up, he got a sense of deja vu; he was lying on the same bed of Urahara’s house again.

His head still throbbed slightly, and the ginger tried to recall just what the hell had happened exactly.

”It seems you’re awake.” A familiar voice came from beside him, and Ichigo turns his head to look at Urahara, who was standing beside his bed, leaning against his cane with a fan covering half of his face as usual.

He looked really serious, and moments later, Ichigo’s memory began to return.

”Oh god...is everyone okay? Where’s Yuzu?”

”Aside from nosebleeds, headaches and a scare majority are fine, including your sister; she was taken to the medical center alongside the rest of the guests after she passed out.”

Urahara explains to him calmly, though his face was still in a serious frown. Ichigo sighs relieved, but felt immense guilt tug in his gut.

”I...it’s my fault; I should have never brought him there!” Ichigo huffs out frustrated and hides his face, angry at himself.

”...You could not have known what happens.”

Urahara reminds the young man, who just shakes his head, not buying the excuse given.

”It doesn’t matter; I had _no_ proper reason in taking the zanpakuto with me.”

Urahara releases a slow sigh, knowing full well that it was hard to convince Kurosaki of his relative innocence in this matter. The boy had a bad habit of trying to carry the weight of the world in his shoulders.

For a moment, they both remained quiet.

”...For now, I have chosen to take the zanpakuto from your hands, I believe it’ll be safer that way for everyone.” Urahara informs him, and Ichigo glances at the man.

He was...slightly conflicted about that thought; he did not want the man to have to deal with the spirit’s outbursts.

Ichigo knew the thought was silly, as the man was likely much better at handling such volatile behavior.

He just couldn’t help himself; Urahara had trusted the blade to him in the first place, and Ichigo had actually momentarily felt like he’d made some progress with the spirit, having him actually reveal his true identity to the ginger.

Talking about that... Ichigo frowns as he gazes at Urahara, wondering if he should tell the man about what he learned.

The blond haired man looks back at him behind his fan expectantly, as if aware Ichigo was contemplating on telling him something.

”.....Be careful with it, Urahara-san.”

Ichigo finally states, deciding he did not want to tell the man about his findings just yet.

Not after what Grimmjow had said to him about the Shinigami having done something bad to him and some others, perhaps the Espada, his ancestor had mentioned in his diary. Urahara nods after a moment, and tells him to rest.

”You’ve been through a lot of rough things lately, and I am honestly a little concerned about long-term effects regarding to this situation.”

Yeah, Ichigo did not blame him; all this stress his mind and body had gone through recently, it probably wasn’t good on the long run. There was just nothing he could do about it right now; what had happened, happened. He just had to deal with it.

 

 

 

 

”What should we do with that thing, Kisuke?”

Yoruichi asks, glancing at the sword that was resting innocently on an open wooden box with protective symbols on it. That museum thing had been bad; both she and Kisuke had sensed the sudden burst of spiritual pressure despite not being in the event. The amount of damage as well, coming from purely emotional outburst and not any form of intended attack... it was unnerving.

”The heads will be asking questions I am afraid. I wish to keep this blade a secret from them still though.”

”Why though? I get that you believe the presence in it might be the key to uncovering the secrets of the lost years, but is it really worth it? Someone could’ve died!”

The woman tells him sternly, and Urahara gazes at the blue blade quietly for a few moments.

”I understand your worry Yoruichi san, but I’d rather not hand something this powerful to the hands of our leadership.”

”Ukitake and Kyoraku would not abuse it, you know this Kisuke.”

”I know, that is not what I am concerned about.”

He turns to look at her seriously.

”What if someone in the laboratory team wishes to examine it?”

Yoruichi seemed to get what he was thinking almost instantly. Then again, they had known each other for a long time.

”If Mayuri gets his hands on something like this...it’s never a good idea.”

The woman admits after a moment, examining the sword with a frown.

”Indeed; worst case scenario, he releases the still malevolent and vengeful spirit within, that will hurt hundreds of innocent people. Not to mention, if the spirit is indeed who I think it is, Hollows will flock to him, and it will make them several times more dangerous as well.”

Urahara pauses for a second, walking to the box and closing the lid to seal the sword away safely for now.

”Perhaps he was not the strongest of the kings and queens, but being the last one left, he has _immense_ influence over all hollows. The fact they are seeking out his blade is proof enough of that; whenever they know about his spirit potentially sealed within it, that detail doesn't matter.”

He turns to look at Yoruichi who was frowning at him.

”Wouldn’t that be all the more reason to eliminate him?”

”Perhaps it would be the easiest solution, but I do not think it would be the right one. A shinigami should never attack a being unable to defend themselves for one.”

Yoruichi frowns even deeper at that; although she agreed with that notion, the spirit of the blade seemed anything but defenseless.

”So, what do we do then?”

”We’ll report to them that there was a highly powerful hollow - another invisible one - that attacked the event, but it was dealt with.”

Yoruichi sighs and nods, crossing her arms and glancing at the box. She did not like the idea of having that thing around them, but the same time, she knew that Kisuke had to have a burning reason to keep the zanpakuto and the spirit within safe. Whenever it was to make amends about whatever happened, or if he had a bigger goal in mind - which was more likely - Yoruichi did not know.

 

 

 

Ichigo got to go home the next day.

Yuzu was extremely worried and hugged him tight by the time he stepped in from the door.

The ginger hugs her back, just glad she was okay.

”Really, all I felt was this heavy weight on my mind, and then I just passed out.” Yuzu explains him once Ichigo asks what exactly happened to her.

”So no nosebleeds or headache or anything?”

The girl nods after a moment, figuring she got lucky. Ichigo wasn’t too sure about that; Yuzu was pretty sensitive to spiritual pressure like Orihime, so her getting off this easy was slightly unusual. It was a relief yes, but unusual.

”Are you okay Ichi-nii? You looked so pale back then...”

”Yeah, I’m fine.” The ginger reassures the girl with a soft smile.

 

 

That day, Isshin did not bother his son too much, perhaps equally concerned over what happened. Karin had noted his blue sword was gone, to which Ichigo had simply stated that Urahara had took it for safekeeping for now. The girl did not inquire him any further about it as per usual. If he was honest, Ichigo felt a little uneasy about not having a zanpakuto with him.

What if another hollow appeared to their house and attacked his sisters?

Ichigo had never been good with the kido spells after all. He could have gone and gotten himself a training sword, but after getting a slight taste of how a proper zanpakuto could feel like, channeling his power, he felt reluctant on going back those flimsy sticks.

With a sigh, he rolls on his back, dropping his arm over the edge. His fingers brush at the sealed box, and he tugs it out after a moment, pulling the thing away from under the bed and taking the notebook out of it. Ichigo releases a slow sigh and begins flipping through it.

He couldn’t stop but wonder... Suddenly, his eyes catch something on a page.

A familiar sounding name.

_”He acts polite around them, but I cannot stop but feel Aizen-san doesn’t quite respect our allies like I do. His words hide a condescending tone underneath them. I am not certain if they notice it. Grimmjow did sem to be aware of it though, as he openly told me he doesn’t like the ’glasses-wearing smooth talker bastard’ as he puts it.”_

Ichigo frowns at that; this... this could hint at the possibility that what the spirit had told him in his fit of rage, was in fact _true._

The ginger frowns and proceeds to search for the book for more entries about Sousuke Aizen.

His name was mentioned a couple of times, closer to the end of the diary writings.

_”He doesn’t seem to understand why we need to keep cooperating with them. Aizen-san seems to view the Espada as the same as their brethering they rule over. While he is not entirely wrong, he is also not grasping the whole truth. While Grimmjow-san and his companions are in fact Hollows themselves, they do not function the same manner as those below them. The whole reason behind their rule is this simple fact that they are less of an animalistic souls; an Espada does not feel the need to devour others for power. I asked Grimmjow-san about this once during the first stages of our growing bond. He looked at me like I had gone mad, and proceeded to laugh at my face.”_

Ichigo huffs and shakes his head, amused honestly.

He could imagine the blunet do that, despite only knowing of his existence for such a short time.

_”He said someone of his level has no need for such pointlessness, although I may have taken liberty to censor his words a little here.”_

The ginger rolls his eyes, and proceeds to head to the next paragraph he’d marked, couple pages ahead. The text there made him frown again.

_”I submitted my concerns to our higher ups regarding to Aizen’s wording and behavior, but they don’t seem to wish to listen to me. It seems Genryuusai-Sama doesn’t think my word is trustworthy just because I happen to be on good terms with the Sixth King. Luckily I am not the only one who is suspicious; my sister doesn’t trust Aizen either, and I’ve heard Captain Hirako has his suspicions as well.”_

This... did not sound like the stories he’d heard of Aizen Sousuke so far.

The tone his ancestor was using was less than flattery, and he wasn’t even going into details yet. What was also confusing to him, was the part about the leader of the Shinigami from those times seemingly not trusting his ancestor.

All the texts about Kaien had spoke of hiw highly valued and trusted man he had been, so this contradicted his mythos directly.

With a sigh, Ichigo sits up and holds his chin in thought.

Perhaps... he should research more on his ancestor as well.

The only issue was, he wasn’t sure if he’d be allowed to the library again due to the mess he caused last time. Sure, it was not likely that Isane would ban him, but she definitely would not feel comfortable about leaving him alone there. It was just that Ichigo did not really want anyone looking trough the stuff with him, asking questions about why exactly did he suddenly gain interest on his ancestor like this. With a sigh, he closes the notebook and puts it in his pocket, contemplating on whenever he should head to the library or not.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door and Ichigo turns to look, finding Yuzu peeking in on him. She was clearly still lightly concerned, which, was understandable.

”Is everything okay?”

Ichigo asks and the girl nods, closing the door behind her as she walks to Ichigo, sitting to his bed eventually.

”I’m just glad you are; it looked so bad, what I saw before I passed out. The whole thing was scary.”

Yuzu mumbles out, brushing her hair a bit. Ichigo sighs and shifts to sit beside her, allowing the girl to lean against his side, clearly still shaken.

”At first everything was normal, then all those things started breaking, and there was a voice...it sounded more like a roar really.”

”Yeah. It was likely one of those ’invisible’ hollows we have been dealing with lately.” Ichigo tells her, rubbing the girl’s back slightly.

Yuzu nods after a moment, swallowing down hard.

”It was such a bad timing too; I was supposed to do a school-project about Shinigami history and hoped to get some material from the exhibition...”

So _that’s_ why Yuzu had been so adamant on going there huh? It wasn’t just the promise made months earlier.

”Well, you can always go to the library.”

”I guess...I’d just rather not go alone, but Karin doesn’t want to go, and dad is busy with paperwork...”

Ichigo soon understood why the girl was so uneasy; she wanted to ask him to join her, being too scared to go by herself, but she also felt bad for asking after what Ichigo had gone trough.

”...When is this task due?”

”....Tomorrow. I do have material already! I just...I’d still need some.”

The girl mumbles out rubbing her head, not looking at Ichigo directly. The ginger sighs and smiles, ruffling her hair a bit.

”If you want me to come with you, just say so. I’m fine enough to sit around for hours and sleep while you study.”

Ichigo tells her teasingly, although it was not what he had in mind; this was the perfect excuse for him to get out of the house and go to the library. His old man would not be up his ass about it if he said he was going for Yuzu’s sake, and if anyone asked there what he was doing, he could just claim he was helping his sister.

Ichigo wasn’t too sure why he felt the need to keep this venture a secret.

One could call it a gut instinct he supposed.

 

 

 

Isane was indeed a bit uneasy about seeing him there, though it seemed to be more out of concern for his wellbeing.

”You have been trough a lot lately, Ichigo; should you really be up?”

Ichigo reassured the woman that he was fine enough to help his sister out with her school project. Having nothing to say to that, the woman left them be. Ichigo watched Yuzu gather all sorts of books regarding to the Shinigami, including those talking about Aizen and legends surrounding him. Ichigo was not interested in that right now, given he had a reason to doubt the truthfulness of those stories.

Instead, he scrolled trough the shelves for anything relating to his ancestor. It was surprisingly small amount of what he could find; only four books total spoke of him. One was a biography, but as Ichigo red trough it, he noted it never mentioned anything about the Espada, or the Shinigami working with them. It shouldn’t be too surprising, given Ichigo had studied their history somewhat, and never heard of the things Kaien talked about in his diary.

Yuzu seemed curious about him reading trough the stuff as well, and she reminded him teasingly that he was supposed to be napping.

”Well, since I am in a library, might as well look like I’m actually helping you.” Ichigo teases her right back, gaining a slight giggle from the young girl, who began to look more relaxed slowly, the worry in her eyes lessening.

They fall in silence, each of them reading trough their own findings. Ichigo glanced at Yuzu, as the girl made notes at times. It made him smile; his sister was a hard worker, and while he didn’t really wish to see her on active duty in Shinigami order, she could likely be a very valuable member in other branches aside from the combat squad. Ichigo turns his attention back to the book detailing some significant battle Kaien had been involved in. He was zoning out slowly, as the text was so monotone and boring to read compared to Kaien’s slightly quirky and humorous writing style.

”Are you perhaps dozing off afterall, Ichi-nii?”

Yuzu giggles as he jerks his head back up, nearly having drifted off. He rubs his head sheepishly and decides to get up and move for a bit, figuring sitting around reading boring text was not going to do him any good.

As he wanders around the bookshelves, Ichigo enters to an area filled with much older books.

Most of these were fairytales and old wisdoms, perceived for their sentimental value rather than of actual usefulness. There were some even meant for children, which made them even less sensible to be in this place; such books belonged to the normal library. The only reason they were kept here was because each of them was apparently unique, last copy or copies left at this point in time.

He scrolls trough them absentmindedly, then suddenly spots another familiar name in the midst of the books.

Miyako Shiba, Kaien’s wife.

Out of curiosity, Ichigo pulls the book out, blowing the dust away from it gently. It was a childrens’ book, written and illustrated by the woman herself. Now when he thought back on it, Ichigo could recall hearing sometime that Miyako had been a writer of sorts, given her poor health didn’t allow much physical labor. He walks back to the table and sits down, examining the cover curiously.

It was apparently a tale of a young man and a magical white tiger he befriends.

Ichigo could not stop but wonder, as he examined the feline figure on the cover; while the colors were faded with time, he could tell it had blue eyes, like a certain spirit he knew.

Cautiously, Ichigo opens the old book, mindful of the brittle paper.

The first thing he noted was that her drawings were really pretty; she clearly had talent. The next thing he noticed was that like he’d initially thought, the black haired boy reminded her husband a lot, just looked clearly younger and more caricatured. His eyes drift to the text under the picture of the boy now. Thanks to some preservation techniques used on these old books, the text was still readable, even if it was also oldish like Kaien’s diary.

_”There was once a boy names Katsuro. He was a curious little child and often went for walks by himself, discovering new things each time he did so.”_

Turning the page, Ichigo discovered the boy being scolded by an elderly figure, and on the page next to the text, there was a larger illustration which portrayed ’Katsuro’ walking trough a forest with a lantern on his hand.

_”His elders scolded the boy, saying he could end in trouble one day because of his curiosity; they feared he would end up angering the mountain king for venturing into his territory without permission. Katsuro however, was not good at listening to them. He went to the forest everyday, writing down everything he saw in his tiny book.”_

Next page had the boy holding a familiar looking notebook, covering under a tree hiding from what seemed to be stormy skies.

_”One day, a storm appeared out of nowhere, and poor Katsuro had to hide under a tree to shield himself from the cold rain.”_

Ichigo found himself really sucked in to the children’s tale due to the pictures, but also because he had a feeling this story had a meaning behind it.

_”A lightning hit near the scared child, and he ran away, trying to find his way back trough the forest, but he got lost. That was when it suddenly appeared.”_

Flipping the page, Ichigo found an illustration of the small boy, face to face with a large, white tiger. The boy was looking up at the beast wide-eyed, but it did not seem like a frightened expression.

_”The white tiger, the king of the mountain, had come down out of curiosity to see what was walking across his lands. The beast was not angry at the child, but instead he was amused by the boy’s bravery, noting he was not afraid of the tiger at all.”_

Ichigo examines the feline figure once again; the eyes, it was not just the color but the shape, and there were even those teal markings on his eyes. This tiger no doubt represented Grimmjow. It had to be so.

_”He asked the boy what he was doing alone in the dark forest, to which the boy replied; ’I want to discover new things, but right now I’d like to discover a way home.”_

Ichigo could not stop but chuckle a bit.

So Miyako could not help but put a bit of her husband’s wit on the character, huh?

_”The beast laughed at the boy’s comment, and agreed to show him a way home, if he’d come back to entertain the lone King with his company; the mountain king was tired of feeling constantly lonely in his lair, and this child greatly interested him. The boy agreed, for refusing an offer from the mountain King could be considered an insult, although one could say he was also as curious about the beast as the beast was about him.”_

The next page had the boy riding on the beast’s back, looking like he was having fun. Ichigo doubted this had actually happened, but this was probably not supposed to be an accurate representation.

_”The boy kept his promise and ventured to the forest every day, sharing the new things he’d found in the forest with the King, who’d just listen to his stories patiently, and sharing his own with the curious child; those were the happiest days in the mountain king's life, for he no longer felt alone in his existence. The company of his little friend brought the beast solace he had not felt in centuries.”_

The next picture almost made Ichigo coo, but he hold it in; it had the white figure sort of curled around the sitting boy, who was clearly reading his book to the closed eyed beast. It was adorable.

_”One day, the boy did not come however, making the king wonder what had happened. As days passed and there was still no sign of his little friend, the beast ventured down from his mountain concerned, appearing to the village to look for his young friend. Seeing the beast king himself appear amongst them, the villagers panicked and hid away.”_

An image showcasing humans hiding and running away, while the giant white feline just looked around calmly.

_”The village elders appeared alongside the warriors, inquiring from the beast why he was there. The white tiger told them, he wanted to know where the boy was. Mistakenly, the elderly thought the poor child had done what they'd feared and somehow angered the mountain king, and lied to him, telling him he was dead.”_

Ichigo glances at the picture of the tiger beside the text, and the sadness in those drawn blue eyes felt so real he had to look away and continue reading.

_”Devastated, the mountain king heads back to his lair, mourning the loss of his little friend. Meanwhile, the little boy was asleep at home. He had gotten ill, hence he hadn’t gone up to the mountain. The elders came in, demanding from the poor child what he had done to deserve the ire of the beast king. The boy was confused at first, not understanding their words. Once he is told the white tiger had visited the village however, he became sad.”_

Ichigo glances at Yuzu, who yawns a bit, rubbing her eyes.

”Take a break for a bit; go ask Isane for a juice or so.”

Ichigo instructs her and the girl nods, getting up and heading to find the silver haired woman. He turns his attention back to the story again.

_”The elderly had not mentioned what they’d told the tiger, making the poor child assume the beast was angry with him for not visiting. So he doesn’t go back to the mountain, not for many years.”_

That... was kind of sad. Ichigo had no clue if this related to any actual event that had happened, but it sounded really sad regardless.

_”It was not until Katsuro’s beloved dog Bonnie goes missing, that he ventures into the forest. Now a young man, he was more fearful of entering the domain of a beast he thought despised him. As the beast feels a familiar presence enter his kingdom, he ponders at first whenever it was a lost spirit. However, as he comes face to face with the now grown up young man, the beast realizes he’d been lied to.”_

The image on the next page was about a grown up Katsuro, staring up at a white tiger again. It mirrored the earlier image with the child, but this time, the tiger looked angry.

_”You lied to me, boy. You broke your promise.’ The tiger growled at him, and Katsuro backs away frightened, apologizing from the king. ’I did not mean to anger you; I could not come up to the mountain because I was ill.” The tiger glares down at him, anger clouding its vision. ’Stop lying, boy. No human could be sick for years like this, and still be alive.”_

Ichigo couldn’t lie; he began to feel worried for ’Katsuro’ even if he knew this would not get too graphic, given it was a children’s story.

_”I did not come to the mountain, because I thought you were angry with me. The elders told me you visited the village.’ Katsuro tells the enraged king, who steps closer, until the young man could reach out and touch his head if he dared. ’They told me you were dead.”_

Ichigo looks up, noticing Yuzu had returned now, looking refreshed.

She was now gazing at the book he held curiously.

”It’s some old children’s book our ancestor wrote. I was curious.” Ichigo states with a shrug, and Yuzu shifts and moves to sit beside him, wanting to see the story too now.

”Can you read it for me?”

Ichigo sighs and smiles, unable to deny anything from Yuzu when she gave him those doe eyes; the girl clearly wanted a break from studying. So, he proceeds to head back to the start, reading up until he reached the point he was in, and flipping the page to continue.

_”Katsuro looked at the beast confused, then began to understand what had happened. Gently, he places a hand on the beasts’ head, looking at the king with a saddened look. ’Oh no my king; that was not true at all. They lied to you, perhaps because they misunderstood your intention and were scared.’ The tiger stares at him in slight shock, and then the anger from before returns, stronger than ever. A strong gust of wind throws Katsuro back, as the beast roars, the sound echoing all around them.”_

Yuzu’s eyes were wide, and she was clearly sucked into the story like Ichigo was.

The picture of the growling tiger was pretty dramatic too, with the wind swirling around the figure.

_”They dared to lie to me? To the king of this mountain, who has protected them from harm for centuries? They must be punished for such insult!’ Katsuro tried to get up and stop the enraged king, but the beast was faster than him, heading towards the village with full intent on destroying it.”_

Yuzu gasps and looks at Ichigo worried. The ginger just flips the page wordlessly.

_”Once the beast reaches the village, it’s powerful roar brings down the nearest houses. However, while others run away to escape his wrath, a young woman steps forward towards the beast. This woman, Yuki, was a friend of Katsuro. She was weak, but she was also understanding, and knew what had the mountain king so angry. Katsuro had told her stories about his times of entertaining the mountain king, of the friendship he’d developed with the beast. As the tiger turns to look at her, the young woman collapses to the ground, bowing down in front of him. ’Please forgive us my lord; it was all but a misunderstanding.’_

”What a brave girl!” Yuzu states, and Ichigo had to agree.

He also felt this girl was probably a representation of Miyako herself.

_”The tiger did not want to hear her excuses however, ordering her to move aside. The girl stands back up, looking at the beast right into his eyes. ’If you wish to punish us for the lie told, punish me. Leave this village be.’ The beast was clearly amused by her proposal, but before he could utter out another word, a figure finally emerges from the forest, and Katsuro runs between them, shielding the girl from the white tiger. ’Please, don’t harm her; Yuki is my dear friend, and she has nothing to do with the insulting lie that was told you. I am the one who foolishly did not come and see you to explain the truth, so it should be me you punish for this.”_

Yuzu leaned even closer, her eyes wide. Ichigo was almost amused by her curiosity about the story.

_”The tiger examines the young man, clearly reluctant to harm him, but still angry. Katsuro walks forward, reaching out gently to touch his face again. ’I’m sorry, so sorry for all the loneliness you had to endure. Please forgive me, and them for lying to you.”_

”Aww, that’s kind of cute.”

Yuzu comments, gazing at the picture about Katsuro touching the tiger’s nose.

Ichigo had a feeling this story didn’t end happy however, and as he turned the page, he was proven right.

_”Unfortunately, before the tiger could speak, an enhanced spear was thrown at him, as one of the village warriors mistook the situation as the beast trying to harm the young couple. Katsuro watched in horror as the white tiger slumped to the ground, and he kneels beside it, lifting the tiger’s head to his lap, petting the soft fur with tears in his eyes. He watched in horror and sadness as the beast slowly turned into stardust, eventually disappearing from his arms. Katsuro turns to look at the man with tears in his eyes, demanding to know why he had gone and killed the mountain king. ’I thought that beast was going to eat you.’ The man told him truthfully.”_

Yuzu gasps and then sniffs, tears in her eyes now. She was not good with sad stories. As ichigo examines the drawn figure portraying the warrior, he could not stop but note the brown haired male looked a lot like a certain someone.

_”This will bring devastation to our land, do you not understand? The mountain king protected us, our village from harm!’ Katsuro yells at the man, sadness coating his vision with angry tears. The mighty ruler of the forest was gone, all because of a lie told years ago. ’I promise, from this day onward; I will not speak a single lie to anyone, for the damage it can cause can be too great.’ The young man swore, gazing up at the skies and at the new constellation on the sky.”_

Ichigo turns at the last page now.

_”From that day onward, Katsuro became known as the most honest man on the village. As long as he told no lies, the village remained safe from harm. He passed on his honesty to his children, reminding them to be honest, to not forget a promise made to the king of the mountain.”_

The last picture was of the Katsuro character, now an old man, watching the tiger constellation alongside an elderly woman and a couple of kids. As Ichigo closes the book, he turns to look at Yuzu who was wiping her eyes now.

”Why are those old stories so sad?”

”I guess a happy ending was not part of the usual storytelling routine. Besides it’s sort of an educational story, trying to teach kids to be honest.” Ichigo comments with a shrug, although he had a feeling there was more to this story than that.

He began to wonder...

”Still, that was sad. I felt so bad for the lone king; that boy was his only friend.”

Yuzu sniffles, rubbing her eyes. Ichigo hums and then tells her that perhaps she should continue her studies, if she could that was.

The girl takes a deep breath and nods.

”I’m almost done anyway.”

Ichigo nods with a proud smile, then gets up and heads back to the shelf he’d found the book from.

Out of curiosity, he looks trough the books, but saw no other stories written by Miyako Shiba. Perhaps this was the only one left. He decides to keep it just in case, slipping it to his pocket next to the notebook. It felt kind of fitting, having Kaien’s notebook next to his wife’s fairytale.

 

 

They eventually head back home from the library without an incident, and by the time they reach home, Isshin was done with paperwork and was trying and failing to steal the food Karin was making. Ichigo rolls his eyes at the typical silliness, and helps Yuzu to put up the table.

While he ate, Ichigo could not stop but wonder; if the fairytale characters indeed represented Kaien, Miyako and Grimmjow, what exactly did the story base on?

Whom was the man, who killed the tiger, supposed to represent?

Ichigo had a hunch he knew the answer, but he had no solid evidence; a similarity between a figure in a book and a person was not definite proof.

Once he enters back into his room, Ichigo digs out both books, examining them for a moment in his hands.

Finally, he sighs and puts the two into the box beneath his bed, closing the lid. Now that he thought about it, perhaps no hollow had shown up in his house since this box because the hollows couldn’t sense the blade from within it. He hoped Urahara had something similar in his house.

Ichigo sighs and slumps on his bed, feeling rather exhausted despite doing nothing but sitting around and reading for several hours.

It was two in the afternoon but his body felt like it should be near midnight already with how exhausted it still was from all of his ordeals.

It doesn’t take him long to fall asleep.

 

 

 

 

_The ginger looks around, confused about his whereabouts at first._

_Then, he realizes he was back in that dream version of the Hueco Mund palace. Cautiously, he looks around, but doesn’t see the volatile spirit anywhere. In fact, everything around him felt... unusually quiet. It was also dimmer, as if the dimension itself was tired._

_Ichigo paces around for a bit, glancing towards the thrones. The blunet was nowhere to be seen. Then, he spots a door further away. It wasn’t that unusual given the palace had a lot of pathways leading up to this room, but normally he couldn’t see any of them in this dimension. Cautiously, Ichigo inches towards it, and finds himself in an unknown room. It was large, and given it had a bed, a couch and everything, he figured it used to be someone’s bedroom._

_That’s when he finally spots the spirit. He was lying on his back on the ground, eyes closed._

_The spirit looked like he’d been completely drained out of energy after his outburst, and had just slumped there, unconscious. As Ichigo steps closer, his eyes widen upon him realizing a peculiar detail. He was no longer in his ’battle-form’ as the spirit had called._

_His upper body was bare, and Ichigo could finally see the nasty looking wound on his chest; it was like somebody had slashed him with a burning sword or a branding iron, or perhaps a kido attack. There were more scars as Ichigo looked more closely; another scar on his neck, like somebody had tried to slice his head off._

_Imagining that made Ichigo’s stomach turn lightly, and he shakes his head to get rid of that image._

_Examining him further, Ichigo also noted smaller scarring on his arms and hands, but they looked much older than the two bigger wounds. After a moment of hesitation, Ichigo kneels down beside him, and cautiously reaches for his shoulder. The man doesn’t react at all when he squeezes, not even when Ichigo shakes him lightly. The spirit was clearly in some deeper state of slumber right now._

_With a sigh, he leans back and examines the spirit’s face now._

_He appeared much more like he had in those murals now, with the shorter hair and a bit of mask on the left side of his face._

_Ichigo also could not stop but note that his initial observation about those pictures had been correct; Grimmjow was **handsome.**_

_It was fairly obvious from his physique the man was a highly capable warrior even without the form from earlier._

_Suddenly, the spirit shifts, and Ichigo freezes, too afraid to even move._

_Grimmjow doesn’t wake up however, just shifts on his side, turning his back to Ichigo, and curling up slightly like he was having an unpleasant dream. Ichigo notes the man had a number six tattooed to his lower back, the style similar to the number on one of the thrones._

_What gained his attention was not the tattoo however, but the scarring on his back; there was another, nasty burn wound on him, and examining his left shoulder-joint more closely, it appeared as if somebody has tried to cut - or rather, burn - his arm off. Ichigo’s eyes widen in shock as he sees this. None of these wounds looked like something a hollow could do, so..._

_”These...all of these came from the same person, didn’t they?”_

_Ichigo mumbles out, and without really thinking, Ichigo places a hand gently on the injury in the man’s back._

_The second he does that however, the strange silence around him snaps, and Grimmjow’s eyes snap open instantly._

_Before Ichigo could even react, the spirit kicks him away and against a wall, grabbing his throat a second later with wild and angry eyes. He looked....for a second he looked almost **spooked.**_

_”The fuck are you doing, sneaking up on me, kid?!”_

_The spirit hisses at him, and Ichigo grasps the arm clutching his neck, trying to pry it off. He’d clearly caught the man off guard and Grimmjow didn’t like it. Apparently realizing Ichigo couldn’t really speak due to him cutting off his air supply, the man let’s go of his throat, but plants the hand above his head. Ichigo coughs and gasps for air several times, up until Grimmjow grasps his jaw and forces the young man to look at him. In his human form, the blue eyes seemed somehow even more expressive and vivid, or perhaps it was because of the dimness of their surroundings causing the effect._

_”Why the fuck are you in here again? I thought the fucker took my blade from you.”_

_”He did. I-I don’t know how I ended up here.”_

_Ichigo’s voice was barely above a whisper, though not out of fear._

_Grimmjow’s frown deepens, then as his eyes glance at his hand holding onto Kurosaki’s jaw, he seems to finally realize he was no longer in his armor._

_The man backs away like he was burned, and stares at Ichigo with an unstable look that hid a mixture of emotions._

_It was this strange combination of anxiety and anger._

_”....Is that what you were hiding with that armor? Those scars?”_

_Ichigo couldn’t stop himself from asking. For a moment the blue eyes stare at him like a deer caught in headlights, then his face twists into an angry sneer, and Ichigo could feel the familiar feeling of an invisible force pushing him away._

**_”GET THE FUCK OUT.”_ **

 

 

 

Ichigo nearly falls off the bed as he awakens, and the young man sits up, panting harshly for a moment. As he looks around hazily, Ichigo notes that it was around six in the evening now. He had slept for several hours it seems. With another sigh, he brushes trough his hair and calms down slowly. As he did so, a frown appeared on his face. Why would the man want to hide those injuries? Based on what he’d learned from their brief chats and Kaien’s diary, Grimmjow seemed to be the kind of man who’d normally carry any injuries with pride. Sort of like that crazy bastard Kenpachi, a Shinigami amongst their ranks who seemed to be in for the fights, not for protecting people. As long as he did his job properly it didn’t really matter.

Yet, it was clear Grimmjow didn’t like him seeing them.

Not to mention... Why had he acted scared for a brief moment? Like he’d expected to be sneak attacked, even though it should be obvious Ichigo would not do that. Hell, with his inexperience he probably couldn’t even win a fight against him.

Except... if something traumatic happened moments before he was sealed away to the zanpakuto. Given one of the wounds was in his back... Ichigo rubs his eyes and gets up slowly, figuring he should go check on his family downstairs. As he walked down, it became fairly clear to Ichigo now, that they were dealing with a traumatized spirit. That was probably why Grimmjow was so unpredictable and reluctant to talk.

”Oh, big brother! We were about to wake you up for dinner.”

Yuzu greets him, gaining a slight smile from Ichigo as he sits down beside Karin.

While eating, Ichigo couldn’t stop but think back on the state he’d found the spirit in, and the unnerved look he’d had for a second. Turning his gaze towards the window, Ichigo began to feel he wanted to have the zanpakuto back now.

He wanted to know what had happened; how had a man his ancestor was clearly fond of, ended up in such situation.

However, he knew Urahara likely wouldn’t let him have it back, unless he could convince the man the museum incident would not happen again. Ichigo had noticed he could somewhat resist Grimmjow’s aura with his own, but he still did not have proper control of it; he’d have to learn to get better with his spiritual pressure first, before he could even begin proposing Urahara about having it back.

Although...given what he’d just witnessed, Ichigo wasn’t sure if the aggressive way would be the right choice.

Gaining the spirit’s trust would likely be a better idea.

Ichigo turns his gaze back to his meal and continues eating. He did have an advantage; Ichigo was fairly sure that his similarities with Kaien did chip away from the man’s barriers somewhat, but naturally it wasn’t going to be enough. Besides... the fact he was able to enter Grimmjow’s realm even without the zanpakuto, it was a little strange, but perhaps he could use it to his advantage. Ichigo just had to figure out how the hell it had happened in the first place.

 

_He was pacing around the room like an anxious caged animal._

_Hell, he felt like one right now._

_How the hell had the bastard managed to sneak in even without having his zanpakuto with him?_

_What’s more, he’d seen him in that sorry ass state, something the man definitely hadn’t wanted._

_What was even more infuriating and freaked him the hell out, was the fact the kid had touched him, gotten to his personal space long before he even noticed the fucker was there. It had been such a weird, gentle gesture, but regardless of the intention, it freaked him out._

_He did not like being sneaked upon like that. The man finally slumps to the floor against the wall, mingling his fingers into his hair as he tried to get his breathing back under control._

_Fuck, he hated how he did not have enough energy to bring up his armor thanks to his outburst earlier._

_It was stupid, dangerous and foolish thing to do, but he couldn’t help himself._

_Seeing that fucker paraded around like some fuckin’ folk hero, it was too much. He’d snapped, wasted tons of his spiritual pressure just to wreck that shit and probably knock out plenty of those ignorant fools._

_Grimmjow had to commend the kid a little bit though, being able to leave the place the way he did despite being at the center of the storm._

_The man shakes his head; this was not the time to be impressed by a fucking shinigami._

_He hated all of them at this point, even Kaien, and especially him._

_Having that brat Kurosaki look like him only made everything worse. It pissed him off so much._

_At least, that’s what he kept telling himself._

 

 

 

The next day, Ichigo headed for Urahara.

He was not entirely sure how to approach this, but he had taken his ancestor’s diary with him just in case.

Once the house came in sight, Ichigo noted that it looked empty, as the door was closed. If Urahara was around, he kept the door open. The ginger pauses uncertain; if the man wasn’t around, he didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, the door is pushed open and Ginta steps out, sweeping the porch while grumbling under his breath. As he spots Ichigo, the kid pauses and just stares back at him for a moment.

”The heck are you here now, huh?” The kid demands him a second later, nearly throwing the broom at Ichigo.

Seriously, what was Ginta’s problem?

”It is not nice to throw things at people.”

Ururu mutters at him, and Ginta grabs her head and ruffles her hair harshly, telling her to shut up.

Ichigo just sighs and walks past them, informing the two he was looking for Urahara and would wait for him if the man wasn’t around.

”Urahara-san and Tessai-san are in an important meeting; you might have to wait for a long time.” Ururu told Ichigo, while sitting on struggling Ginta she’d pinned to the ground. Ichigo just nods, looking around the house for a bit.

Even if Urahara wasn’t there, Ichigo knew he had a few spiritual pressure books of his own.

Perhaps he could find something useful from them. Ichigo walks to Urahara’s bookshelf and looks trough it. There were a lot of weird things in there, and Ichigo did not even try to dechiper what half of the titles meant.

”You should not be touching those without permission.”

Ururu tells him with her usual soft spoken voice, and Ichigo smiles down at the child.

”I need something to do while waiting, don’t I? Besides I’m only looking for the ones dealing with Kido.”

The girl nods after a moment and eventually pulls out a heavy looking book, handing it over to Ichigo who almost falls to the ground due to its weight.

How was she able to hold it so easily? Not wanting to show how the weight had startled him, Ichigo drags the book to the table and starts browsing trough it.

This one was older than most kido books in the library; majority of the stuff Urahara had was a rarity anyway. After scrolling trough it for a while, Ichigo suddenly spots something that sounded useful; there was a whole chapter dedicated to dreamwalking, an ability to peek into people’s minds using your spiritual pressure.

_**”This technique is not highly recommended and usually forbidden, for not only it violates an individual’s right of their thoughts being privy, but it can also enable the person to possess the other, or get possessed.”** _

Yeah, that sounded about what had been going on, the only difference was Ichigo did not do it on purpose. The next passage made him frown however.

_**”There have been cases of so called "natural" dreamwalking occurring between two matching souls; these people are able to naturally traverse and see into each other’s mind without any spells required, even share their spiritual energy in dire circumstances. This is still risky technique, for it requires absolute trust from both partisans in order for the spiritual energy sharing to work correctly. Otherwise, it can cause corruption in one’s soul, and even kill.”** _

As Ichigo flips the page to continue reading, he finds a sheet of paper folded neatly between the pages.

As the ginger opens it, he quickly recognizes the handwriting on the slip; it was Urahara’s.

The note had some random words on it, regarding to this whole dreamwalking thing, but what caught his attention was the list of names.

He recognized the first two; Ukitake and Kyoraku-san.

The next ones below them were unknown to Ichigo, likely past Shinigami who’d lived years ago.

The last pair on the list was different however; it had a circle around it, drawn heavily like Urahara had discovered something significant about the pair.

Soon enough, Ichigo could tell what it was.

 

_”Kaien Shiba & 6”_

 

Ichigo’s eyes widen, as he realizes the number was drawn in the exact style of the tattoo Grimmjow had on his back, let alone the carving on his throne.

That number had to refer to him.

So... did this mean his ancestor and the blunet had indeed done this, being able to share their spiritual pressure somehow?

That was why this slip of paper was between these pages, right? As he reads more of the text, Ichigo finds another intriguing thing

_**”Sometimes, the direct relatives such as one’s children have shown signs of being able to share spiritual energy or dreamwalk with the person’s partner as well, though to a lesser extend.”** _

Could this be the reason why he’d ended up in Grimmjow’s mind - Ichigo assumed that strange place was within his head so to speak - by accident? He was related to Kaien, directly from his father’s side, so perhaps....

Although, the time between their existence was quite great; it sounded far-fetched.

The other explanation was that their spiritual energies somehow matched, which sounded even crazier.

Ichigo sighs and leans back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. Sure, learning all these bits of info enlightened the situation, but it wasn’t really what he was looking for. Suddenly, the young shinigami spots movement at the top of the bookshelf, and he sees the same black cat from the library looking down at him.

”Hey little kitty; did you come here to knock things over as well?”

Ichigo chuckles a little, then watches as the cat jumps down and walks to him, rubbing its head against his leg with a purr.

Ichigo chuckles and scratches the cat’s ear, before turning his attention back at the book, flipping trough it.

The cat jumps up to the table and sits in front of him, following his hand’s motion of scrolling trough the pages with wide eyes in almost comical manner.

”I doubt this interests you, kitty.” Ichigo tells the cat with an amused smile.

The cat just follows him flip trough the pages, up until it suddenly jumps on top of his hand, forcing Ichigo to stop his scrolling.

”Attention-seeker, huh?”

The young shinigami chuckles and scratches the cat’s belly with his free hand, as the other was pinned beneath the fluffy feline. Suddenly, a large sound and a slew of curses from behind them rings in the air, and the cat hisses, getting up and sprinting back up to hide on top of the bookshelf. Ichigo watches with an amused smile as Ginta struggles to put the shit that had fallen on him when opening the overstuffed closet door back in its place.

”The fuck ya looking at, huuuh?!”

The brat demands from him, looking comical with a bucket on his head.

Ichigo just rolls his eyes, turning his attention back to the book.

As he looks at the page he’d stopped however, Ichigo’s eyes widen. This, this was exactly what he’d been looking for!

A spell that could enable him to perhaps do what he wished, even without the zanpakuto.

Ichigo quickly grabs a pen and paper, scribbling down the instructions, checking trough them several times to make sure he wrote everything right.

After that, he closes the book and puts it back in its place, looking up at the cat still sitting at the top of the shelf.

”Thanks kitty, that helped a lot.”

Ichigo flashes the feline a smile before rushing out of the door like he was late from an important meeting.

 

 

 

 

Inoue was surprised to find Ichigo at her door, but also happy to notice he was not injured this time. She lets him in, sensing he had something to say.

”I need your help with something, Inoue.” Before she could even ask, Ichigo shows her the slip of paper, and she reads it, her face turning uneasy once she realized what kind of spell this was.

”Where did you find this, and why would you...why would you want to do this?”

”Uraharas. Where doesn’t really matter; I need to do this because I want to talk to the spirit, and I cannot do it easily without the zanpakuto.”

Inoue glances at him uneasy: she could still remember the scary looking spirit and the intense, hostile spiritual pressure weighing on her.

”Are you sure?”

Ichigo just nods, and she could tell from his expression Ichigo was not going to change his mind. For whatever reason, he needed to do this. The girl sighs and nods after a moment.

”It will require some preparing as this needs a lot of kido.”

Ichigo just nods, stating that he’d let her handle all of that given she was the expert. The compliment made the girl blush, but it did not ward off her worry. The spell sounded dangerous.

They cleared some room to her living room, and Inoue meditates for a moment to gather up her energy. It was always fascinating to see how an air-headed and sometimes easily distracted girl like Inoue could really focus if she needed to.

Eventually, the girl opens her eyes, surrounded by a slight orange glow. She gets up and creates a glowing circle to the floor, asking Ichigo to step on it.

”Remember; focus on the spiritual aura of the person you wish to reach. Otherwise you m-might accidentally end up somewhere you are not supposed to.”

”Just reach for the right thread and follow it to the end, got it.”

Ichigo told her reassuringly; they had already spoken trough this already, but Inoue was clearly still concerned.

”It will be fine; you’re the best kido user I know.” Ichigo tells the girl with an encouraging smile, and she blushed again slightly, returning the smile.

The worry in her eyes did not lessen one bit.

Ichigo takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes, feeling Inoue’s familiar energy hum around him. He was slightly tense himself, for the ginger did not know what to expect.

Ichigo had never done anything like this.

 

 

 

First, it felt like he was just floating in the darkness.

Then he saw them; thousands and thousands of strands, silk-ribbon like objects floating around him, each of them representing the spiritual aura of a being.

There was a warm orange one wrapped around his wrist, Orihime’s energy, that kept him from floating off into this spiritual abyss. As Ichigo looks around, he looks for the one he needed. It was proving to be difficult, and Inoue did not want him to spend too much time dreamwalking, as it was dangerous for one’s body and spirit.

Ichigo frowns and attempts to move.

For his surprise, he was able to walk, even though there was nothing beneath his feet to walk on.

Suddenly, he spots a familiar carmine-colored ribbon.

That feisty aura _had_ to belong to Ginta.

Ichigo walked closer, having a hunch that the spirit’s aura would likely be somewhere near Ginta’s.

A shiver ran down his spine, and Ichigo felt a little cold. It eas a side-effect of this realm, but it wasn’t an alarming sign just yet, so he kept going. Soon, his hunch is proven correct. He senses another familiar aura, this one more powerful than Ginta’s, and hostile.

As Ichigo sees it however, he is in for a slight shock; the ribbon had _chains_ around it, perhaps referring to the fact his soul was trapped.

Regardless, Ichigo reaches for it cautiously, his fingertips touching at the blue ribbon.

A sudden burst of energy hit him, and he was forced back.

It was clear Grimmjow was resisting, not wanting him to enter.

It was not surprising, but he HAD to do this now, because if he could get in now, it would be easier next time. Part of him felt a little bad, because in a way this was kind of douchey to do.

It was just... he wanted to know what happened back then. He wanted to know... why Kaien hadn’t saved his friend, because if Ichigo had been on his shoes, he would have done so. Given the way the man had written about Grimmjow, the blunet HAD to be important to him.

Ichigo just couldn’t understand why Kaien would have left him to this fate willingly; and if it wasn't the case, he wanted to know why Kaien was unable to stop it.

Suddenly, the pressure pushing against him disappears, and the next second he felt like he was flying trough the air; everything around him turning blurry.

 

 

 

When Ichigo opens his eyes, he finds himself back in the deserted world.

The only thing telling him he was still dreamwalking was the faint glowing ribbon around his wrist. This was not what Ichigo had expected; while he was seemingly in the right place, this palace seemed more...alive. As Ichigo looks around, he almost jumps, witnessing a group of what seemed to be shinigamis heading his way. For his confusion, they don’t seem to see him, walking right past him as if he didn’t exist. No, rather than past him, they walked trough him. It was freaky as hell, and Ichigo was now certain this was not the dimension the spirit usually lingered in.

This was...

He nearly jumps as a figure suddenly appears next to him, although the man also seemed to be unaware of his presence.

Ichigo just stares up at Grimmjow, unable to stop himself.

Without the tenseness to his posture and expressions, and lack of those serious looking wounds, he was even more stunning than Ichigo had initially thought.

He was also wearing the fancy outfit with the furry collar and the collar around his neck with teeth-like triangles on it. Taking a step back, Ichigo also notes that the blue panther was actually portrayed on the back of his fancy jacket that barely covered his back.

Not that the scars made him ugly, it was just that this Grimmjow - clearly a memory from the past - looked confident and relaxed, like he was not afraid of anything.

”Look at them, prancing around like they own the damn place.”

Ichigo jumps again, thinking the man was talking to him. However, soon enough a figure appears next to him, a green haired woman who was definitely at least as curvaceous as Rangiku.

She gives her companion a scolding smile, which soon turns mischievous.

”Last time I checked, you seemed to _enjoy_ the company of that raven haired young Shinigami.”

Grimmjow groans and gives her an annoyed look, though there was a hint of certain kind of fondness to it; almost like a little sister teasing their big brother.

He had often aimed that same look at Karin whenever she was messing with him.

”Shut yer trap woman. Just ’cause I tolerate one of ’em, it don’t mean I like all of them.”

The woman waves her hand dismissively, smile never fading. She seemed nice, and Ichigo felt saddened to think this woman was gone now.

”Talking about Kaien-san; he asked me to tell you he’s waiting for you at the northern wing, the usual spot.”

Grimmjow snorts at that, rolling his eyes.

”The fuck, he’s starting to sound like a desperate girlfriend or some shit.”

The woman gives him another scolding look.

”You always go.”

The mischief in her tone was evident to Ichigo, and he almost wanted to laugh.

The blunet snorts, giving her a bored look.

”He ain’t my type, ya know that. ’Sides the fucker got a fiancee.”

”If he hadn’t though...?”

Ichigo was curious now too.

Grimmjow just snorts at her again, telling her he was not into the lovey-dovey stuff she was and turns on his heels, heading somewhere.

As he goes, Ichigo felt an invisible force tug on him, and he follows the man. It made the sense, given these had to be his memories. Instead of entering the realm of his mind, he had apparently been brought in the middle of a memory. It worked too, maybe he could learn something.

Soon enough, they enter back outside, and Ichigo is left breathless at just how tall this place was.

The ground was several feet down, perhaps even a mile. He looks up just as Grimmjow jumps on the upper level, where a raven haired shinigami was indeed waiting for him. Ichigo follows him up there, and damn, he had to admit; Kaien looked a lot like him, just older and black-haired.

”Greetings.” He welcomed the blunet, who just snorts, brushing trough his hair.

”The fuck ya want now?”

Kaien laughs, clearly used to that response, as he gets up from the edge and dusts off his clothes.

”Well, a hello would be nice, but given I never seem to get one from you, I suppose we can move to the next best thing.”

”And that is?”

 

Before Ichigo could hear the response, he was whisked away into another memory.

This time it was night, and he found himself in the same room he’d found Grimmjow in when he’d been unconscious. The blunet was lying on his bed, arms crossed behind his back, while Kaien sat on his couch, writing down something.

Ichigo walks closer and attempts to peek onto the text, but all he could see was a blur.

The ginger concluded Grimmjow had no recollection on what Kaien had been writing, hence he couldn’t make out the text.

”Did she really ask you that?”

Kaien suddenly breaks the silence, and the blunet tilts his head lightly, cracking one eye open. Had Ichigo not known he was practically invisible, it almost felt like Grimmjow was looking straight at him. Just in case, Ichigo moves away from between the two.

”She’s noisy like that. Always cooking up her weird theories just ’cause she got a partner.”

”I wouldn’t call it weird; you are very human in several aspects - and by that I do not mean you are weak, but rather, capable of certain kind of emotions and bonds.”

Grimmjow snorts, closing his eyes again.

”Bonds are fer the weak. Especially the kind of shit she’s talking about. Just gives you another thing to worry about.”

Kaien hums, giving his friend a sad smile.

”I suppose. Somebody like you won’t see value in the concept of love.”

Grimmjow snorts and pushes himself up, brushing trough his now messy bed-hair, which was a bit too good looking for Ichigo’s liking.

His brain was wasting time making those pointless notes about Grimmjow's looks, it was a bit annoying.

”Stop statin’ the obvious. Ya spew out so much obvious shit it hurts my brain to think you have to voice it out.”

Ichigo would probably have gotten a little peeved at that comment, but Kaien just laughs, shaking his head amused as he closes his book.

”Really though; her and Harribel-san sharing the bond they do doesn’t seem to be making them weak.” Kaien reminds him softly, making the blue eyes glare at him irritated.

”They’re odd ones out anyway. It’s sorta their THING, being a pair an’ all. It only works with them.”

”So you’ve never felt that way towards anyone?”

Kaien asks curiously.

The blunet just stares at him for a moment, before releasing an irritated sigh and rubbing his eyes.

”Not _that_ way, no.”

Ichigo felt it was a honest answer, but also left something unsaid.

 

The surroundings grow dark again, and the memory changes, only this time it was not pleasant.

The palace was burning, bits of it grumbling down. This had to be the time when it was destroyed. Ichigo felt dread creep his heart; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see this. A figure appears amidst of the dust and smoke in the air, and Ichigo recognizes it was Grimmjow; he was holding his sword, bleeding from his front and neck, indicating that those wounds Ichigo had seen had been injected upon him just recently.

He was a mess even without those, breathing harshly, eyes wild and unfocused, and his clothes were badly torn.

_”Shit...don’t have much energy left ta reactivate it.”_

The man mumbles more to himself than anyone else, for obviously he couldn’t see Ichigo was there.

The ginger watches as the man slumps against the wall, breathing harshly and slowly dying the wall and the ground beneath him red with blood.

It was a heart-wrenching sight, but he also knew he couldn’t do anything.

Grimmjow coughs, covering his mouth and then looking at the bits of blood in his hand with a sardonic smile on his lips.

_”Not... too long huh? At least... I don’t gotta watch... his stupid face see me die.”_

Ichigo could tell from the hint of fondness in his tone that he was talking about Kaien.

Without even thinking, he takes a step forward towards the figure, but then a huge kido blast hits near Grimmjow, sending him and the debris fly trough Ichigo, and enter further into the room.

It was the same room they found the blade in, and Ichigo realized this had to be soon before... before it had happened.

Ichigo felt as an extreme wave of sorrow and panic hit him.

The ginger grasps his head and collapses to the ground.

 

He...he _didn’t_ want to see this.

**_He didn’t want to see this._ **

 

A figure steps from the smoke, and Ichigo’s already panicked eyes widen even more.

The man, there was no question.

The attacker was Aizen Sousuke.

”Finally I found you; you are a slippery little cat, aren’t you?”

The man tells the injured king calmly, who just grins at him, the blood-loss likely making Grimmjow unable to react much otherwise.

”You did put up a valiant effort, but I am afraid this has to end now.”

Aizen, his face twisted into a sinister grin Ichigo had never seen on his face in all of the paintings and works about him, aims a powerful kido towards the blunet, who just sat there and watched, unable to defend himself.

**”STOP!”**

Ichigo yells out without thinking, knowing full well that he couldn’t be heard.

That’s when an intense blue light emits from Grimmjow’s blade, and next thing he knew, something big and white jumped in the path of the beam, bathing everything in immensely bright blue and white light. The only voice Ichigo could hear in the midst of all that chaos was a horrified shout, slipping out a single name.

 

**_”Pantera, don’t!”_ **

 

The next second, his brain was crushed with intense amount of emotion; anger, sorrow, guilt, euphoria, terror, all mixed into one big ball.

Ichigo clutches his head and let out a whimper, as all of this was too much to bear. Shit, Inoue had been right, this was dangerous. Ichigo attempts to reach for the orange ribbon on his wrist to tell Inoue to pull him out, but his body refused to move.

Seconds later, chains suddenly appeared around him, the same ones that were around the blue ribbon.

They coiled around him, and Ichigo struggles against them in panic, not knowing what was happening. All he knew, was that the chains hurt and choked him, as if trying to drag him somewhere by force.

Suddenly, he could hear a growl in the air, and a figure appears, grasping his arm and forcefully yanking him off from the chains.

The pull was so strong that all of them snapped at once, and disappeared into darkness.

He collided with something warm, and just sort of clung to the figure, shaking and gasping for air.

_”The fuck are you doing, kid?!”_

A familiar sound hissed at his ear, and Ichigo looks up, realizing he was leaning heavily against the blunet. The _actual_ blunet, not his memory. His expression was extremely angry, which was understandable.

”I...”

Ichigo attempts to speak, but his head was spinning so badly that he forced his lips closed, closing his eyes and frowning deeply.

_”Shit like this could kill ya.”_

The spirit growls at him again, before reaching towards the orange slip of silk tied to Ichigo’s wrist.

He tugs on it harshly, an action that definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Inoue.

_”Get this fucker out of here before he kills himself.”_

The man mutters, before shoving Ichigo backwards, sending him fly trough the color space filled with ribbons again.

 

 

Ichigo gasps out loud and his eyes look around wildly. He soon spots the pair of teary eyes looking down at him, and Inoue covers her mouth relieved.

Ichigo sensed that something warm and wet was dripping down his nose.

Another nosebleed huh?

”G-gods, Ichigo! Y-you started bleeding suddenly and then just...collapsed!”

Inoue sniffles out, wiping her eyes as she tries to get herself back in order.

”I...sorry for worrying you.” Ichigo manages to mumble, his voice barely above a whisper.

His body felt like led right now.

”I...I almost couldn’t pull you out and your body was turning all transparent! B-but then, something gave you a push.”

A push?

Right... Grimmjow had shoved him away from his mind.

As Ichigo thought back on it, the situation was a little bizarre. The man had somehow come to his rescue again, despite his blade being nowhere near Ichigo. What if... their auras did match? Maybe that was why Grimmjow was able to do it. Ichigo shakes his head, then regrets the action as he rubs his eyes with a groan. His head hurt pretty bad again. It was becoming a damn theme with him. No, it had to be because he was in Grimmjow’s mind, just in different part of it than what he’d expected, and the man had felt his intrusion.

Still though... whatever those chains were, Grimmjow didn’t have to help him.

Hell, doing what he did was likely forbidden, so Ichigo deserved a punishment for it by all logic.

Another thing, as Ichigo thought back on the blue eyes looking at him, he couldn’t stop but think it wasn’t just anger what he’d seen.

Perhaps his similarity with his late friend Kaien _did_ have an effect to the man.

Ichigo attempts to get up, but he was clearly still too dizzy to do it, so Inoue helps him to lie on the couch, telling him to just wait for a moment, and if it didn’t pass, they’d have to call Urahara or someone else more capable there.

Ichigo just nods and gazes at the ceiling quiet, his vision still blurry.

As he blinks, Ichigo notes Inoue had disappeared to her kitchen, perhaps making tea to calm her nerves. A second blink brought with itself a surprise; the spirit was standing beside the couch, looking down at him with hands in his pockets. His blue eyes were in a frown, and he clearly wasn’t pleased with what Ichigo had just done.

_”For fuck’s sake kid. Fine. I’ll talk with ya, just don’t fucking pull some stupid shit like that again.”_

The man grunts at him, and after another blink, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to type this twice as my computer threw me off from the editing page :T  
> A longer chapter.  
> I take no responsibility over the potential shittiness of the children's story portrayed here.  
> Writing a story WITHIN a story is tricky anyway


	9. Thieving strawberry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo gets to see more of Grimmjow's memories, though he has to get Grimmjow's zanpakuto first  
> thieving time!

Ichigo eventually headed back home from Inoue, and was surprised to find his house empty.

Normally at least Karin would have come home from school already.

However, as he glances at the calendar, he soon realizes why she was late; today was a school-trip day where her and Yuzu’s class went to the general museum at Seireitei City centre. It meant they would not be home in at least two more hours. Ichigo sighs and walks upstairs to his room, leaning his palm against a wall for support.

Really, he needed a break from all of these draining experiences to his body, or it would crumble on itself.

_”No shit, kid; I’m surprised ya can still walk on yer own.”_

Ichigo almost jumps and turns to look at the spirit who was casually sitting on his bed, hands in his pockets.

Ichigo took notice on how he was not in his battle form, but still a human.

The only difference between how he’d looked when Ichigo had found him and now was the jacket he wore; it was the same, fur collared one from the past, with the panther picture on the back.

_”No point in hiding ’em when ya saw them already.”_

Grimmjow comments with a shrug, likely guessing what he wanted to ask.

It was an oddly casual change of attitude, but the ginger had no energy or interest in questioning it right now.

Ichigo sucks in a deep breath and cautiously paces to sit down on his chair.

Grimmjow watched his every step like a hunter following the movement of its prey; it was freaky, but suited him honestly, given his panther-like form from earlier. At least, Ichigo assumed it was a panther given the picture on his clothing and throne. Once he was seated, the ginger turns to look at the spirit again.

The man was finally willing to talk to him, but Ichigo suddenly did not know where to start.

He had _so_ many questions, and could not guarantee he’d actually get answers.

Just because Grimmjow agreed to talk, it didn’t mean he’d actually explain anything to him.

”I....I guess I should apologize first for attempting that spell.”

The ginger mumbles out rubbing his neck, figuring it was the best place to start given how pissy the spirit had been about it. Grimmjow snorts, giving him an annoyed frown.

_”The fuck were you thinking? Even a toddler Shinigami shoulda known ya don’t try ta peek into a **sealed** soul, or you’ll be trapped as well, dumbass.” _

Ichigo blinks, looking at him surprised.

”I...Didn’t know that; I got the spell from an older book a friend of mine has. I’ve never done it before.”

Grimmjow stares at him with lift eyebrow.

_”Did ya forget ta read the warnings, or did the writer not even put ’em there?”_

”I...did read them, but...”

Ichigo blushes a bit, realizing that he might have skipped over the details, only gotten the general idea that being in the dreamwalk state could be dangerous.

The blunet snorts and shakes his head, cursing at Ichigo under his breath.

_”Be fuckin’ glad I coulda stop yer soul from bein’ torn from yer body, fucking reckless shithead.”_

About that....

”Thank you. I don’t really know why you did it, but...”

 _”Having ta listen to yer pained whining for the next couple o’ centuries did not sound fun.”_ Grimmjow comments with a shrug.

Okay, that did sound pretty bad, though Ichigo was also curious now what he meant exactly.

A dark grin spread on Grimmjow’s face, as he locks his gaze with Ichigo, blue eyes entrapping the ginger under their influence.

_”M’zanpakuto only has space fer one powerful soul. Yers would’ve been torn to small pieces and merged with mine to accommodate, which would have been a literal hell fer ya, 'cause the pain from a soul being torn yet still bein' a conscious presence don’t go away unless it gets completely eviscerated or merges with the host.”_

Ichigo swallows down nervously, his eyes wide as he finally began to realize just how dangerous his venture had been.

”But... that did not happen to me before...”

_”That’s cause ya didn’t enter my brain, but the **Zanpakuto’s** own space.” _

Oh, that was news; Ichigo had thought the whole time he had been in the spirit’s head.

Grimmjow rolls his eyes and gives Ichigo a lopsided grin.

_”Like you’d be that skilled naturally.”_

Ichigo frowns at the clear mockery towards his skill, but figured the man wasn’t wrong there. The ginger sighs and rubs his eyes, still slightly shaken by the ordeal. What Grimmjow had told him didn’t make it better one bit.

_”So? The fuck ya wanna know?”_

Grimmjow asks him impatiently, crossing his arms.

Ichigo looks up at the former king with a miffed frown, telling him that there were a lot of things he was curious about, so he did not know where to start yet. Grimmjow snorts at that, turning his gaze away.

_”Why exactly do ya wanna know about this shit anyway?”_

He asks after a moment of silence, looking at Ichigo suspiciously. The young shinigami did not blame him for his supsicion one bit, not after what he’d learned and seen. The memory of badly wounded Grimmjow being attacked by one of their own that was regarded as a hero by the shinigami.... it still made his stomach twist unpleasantly.

Not even Kenpachi attacked a person who _couldn’t_ defend themselves, and that bastard was crazy violent.

After taking in a deep breath, Ichigo considers his answer.

He wasn’t entirely sure himself; mainly it was his curiosity, a trait he apparently shared with Kaien. But it was probably more than that too.

”....People often say I remind my ancestor a lot. If that is true, I’d like to know why my ancestor did not come and help his perceived friend, because I would have.”

Grimmjow examines him quietly, making the shinigami tense lightly; it felt like his answer and its honesty were being evaluated by the man, which again, was understandable.

Finally, the blue eyes turn away with an irritated sigh, allowing Ichigo to breathe.

_”You sure like ta talk, but can ya actually walk the walk too, kid?”_

His voice did not sound skeptic per say, but it did seem that Grimmjow questioned his resolve.

His resolve, not the actual words.

”I fully intend to; I’ve never broken a promise.”

The blunet groans and rubs his eyes, muttering something ugly under his breath.

_”Fucking hell; you definitely sound like ’im.”_

The man complains, then drops his arms to his lap, staring ahead. The atmosphere around the man became weary, indicating he was thinking about something rather painful. There were probably lot of that kind of memories.

_”He didn’t know.”_

Grimmjow finally comments quietly, staring ahead, blue eyes glazed over like he wasn’t really there.

Ichigo remains quiet, waiting for him to continue speaking.

_”That bastard sneaked in without tellin’ anyone. By the time he found out, it was too late.”_

”So...you...Kaien had nothing to do with it?”

Ichigo asks quietly, his voice shaking with nervousness.

He did not want to think that his ancestor had something to do with the massacre that took place there, but Ichigo couldn’t stop his unease.

Grimmjow snorts, tilting his head lightly towards Ichigo.

_”Ya been readin’ his diary. Woulda be pretty out of character fer him ta be involved based on the shit in there, don’t cha think?”_

Yeah, he had a point, but Ichigo still wanted to hear it from Grimmjow himself.

_”....I **did** think he was part of it at first. Hell, havin’ one of the Shinigami show up an’ try ta slaughter us naturally makes one suspicious. Sides’ the fucker was using pathways that...” _

Grimmjow closes his mouth abruptly, as if he felt he spoke too much.

”...So what made you think differently?”

Ichigo asks, figuring Grimmjow did not want to elaborate on the ’pathways’ he mentioned.

The blunet hums quietly, then suddenly gets up and walks to the ginger, shadowing him completely with his taller form. The young shinigami backs away unnerved as a hand reaches for him, and he freezes once two fingers touch his forehead.

Seconds later, a dizzying feeling took him over, and as he opened his eyes, he found himself in the same room Aizen had attacked Grimmjow in.

The same room his blade had been left afterwards. The blunet was standing beside him, hands in his pockets and even worse weary look on his face.

Ichigo attempts to ask him what was going on, but the man just tells him to watch. The ginger turns his attention to the scene, clearly still freshly messed up from battle. Grimmjow’s sword was jutting out from the ground, just like how Ichigo had found it. Only difference was, there was blood around it.

Moments later, a group appears into the room, led by Kaien Shiba.

As he takes in the area, and spots the sword, his face twists into such a pained, shocked and guilty look that Ichigo had to look away for a moment.

The raven haired male paces to the blade slowly, and slumps to sit beside it, while his companions looked on.

”What’s the deal?”

A short, blond girl questions the taller, male blond who had a weird upside down grin on his face and droopy eyes.

He looked like a captain based on the white robes.

”Dat zanpakuto belonged ta his friend.”

The blond says solemnly, his voice more serious than what his slightly comical appearance let on. The girl looks up at him with a ’huuh’ that reminded Ichigo of Ginta for some reason.

His attention soon turns back to Kaien, who was still sitting next to the blade. His back was turned to them, but Ichigo could tell from the way the man was brushing his eyes that he was close to crying.

”He... he couldn’t sense you in there?”

”Ta seal was freshly made; no one could.” Grimmjow mutters out, clearly not keen on talking right now.

Ichigo just nods after a moment and turns his attention back to the memory shown to him. Kaien reaches a hand to touch the hilt of the blade, and Ichigo half expects a violent reaction like he had seen when first coming in contact with it.

Nothing happened, which made sense, probably, given what Grimmjow just told him.

”I’m so sorry...I should’ve...shit.”

Kaien hides his face for a moment and takes in a shaky breath.

It was hard to watch, but also eased Ichigo’s mind in a strange way; now he was certain Kaien had nothing to do with Aizen’s attack.

”I tried, I did tell Genryuusai-san that something was off about his behavior. They didn’t listen to me.”

Kaien mumbles out, a bitter smile on his face. Ichigo takes a step closer in an urge to comfort his ancestor, but stops as he realizes that would be pointless.

This was a memory.

”I should have just...I don’t know. I didn’t think he’d... he’d do something like this! He sneaked right under our noses.”

The man huffs, clearly frustrated with himself, clearly angry at their superiors for not listening to him.

”I ain’t surprised dis happened. The peace between us was always kinda shaky.” The blond Shinigami captain comments as he walks to Kaien.

The man looks up at him with an angry look, but it quickly defuses as his gaze drops back to the ground.

”I know. Still, this isn’t right.”

Kaien places a hand to his blade, and Ichigo somehow knew what he was going to say long before the man voiced it out.

”They gave us our blades, our greatest strength to protect people. Have one of us wipe them out like this, it’s....”

”Insulting.”

The Captain finishes his sentence, gaining a slight nod from Kaien, who eventually gets up, face in an angry frown now.

He turns to look up at the Captain with a determined frown.

It was not vengeful per say, but rather, demanded _justice._

”Where is he?”

”He escaped to da deserts, but we are trackin’ him down.”

The blond captain tells him, and Kaien nods, turning his gaze back to the zanpakuto jutting on the floor.

”Ya wanna take it with ya?”

After a moment, Kaien shakes his head and places his hand on top of the hilt.

”This is his grave now, it would be disrespectful to bring this away from here.” The man comments softly, clearly conflicted about this; Ichigo could tell he wanted to take it with him, as it was the only reminder of his lost friend.

 

 

 

As the group starts heading away from the scene, likely to go and catch Aizen, the memory fades, and the dizzying feeling appears, until Ichigo found himself sitting on his chair again, with Grimmjow backing away from him with a neutral expression.

”....I see.”

It was all Ichigo could say, the heaviness of the memory still weighing in on him.

As the silence mounted between them, a thought appeared into Ichigo’s head.

”That...seal on your zanpakuto that keeps you in it and hides you from others most of the time...did...he put it there?”

Grimmjow remains quiet for a moment, then nods lightly.

_”T’wasn’t me he was trying ta seal though.”_

The man sighs and walks back to Ichigo’s bed, slumping down with an exhausted look.

”.....That...thing I saw in that one memory. It was your Zanpakuto spirit, right?”

Grimmjow just nods.

_”She tried ta protect me so she took ta blunt of that attack. She realized it would not be enough ta save me, so...she switched us before that bastard sealed the zanpakuto so she couldn’t come and defend me again.”_

Ichigo blinks, confused.

Grimmjow leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes, remaining silent for a moment. He wasn’t exactly sure why he bothered talking with the kid about this. Or maybe he did know, but didn’t want to admit it.

_”She replaced m’soul with hers, so the body that got destroyed no longer housed me in it; Pantera died alongside my physical form. That’s how I ended up trapped in my damned zanpakuto.”_

Grimmjow mutters out, opening his eyes and glaring at the ceiling like it personally offended him.

”She...a zanpakuto spirit can do that?”

Ichigo was genuinely surprised, gaining a snort from Grimmjow, who tilts his head towards Ichigo again.

_”They can. But it requires that ya and yer spirit are in perfect sync. Even amongst us the only other person who could do it besides me was Ulquiorra.”_

That name said nothing to Ichigo, which didn’t surprise either of them.

”That’s not something we have been taught in shinigami training.”

Ichigo answers truthfully, gaining an amused smirk from the man, though he still looked tired.

_”No wonder yer so clueless about shit.”_

Ichigo huffs and glares at Grimmjow, but it was hard to stay mad at him when the man looked this drained. Showing that memory to Ichigo had to have been emotionally draining, even if he hid it well.

”A lot of old ways were abandoned because they were dangerous.” Ichigo replies truthfully once again, gaining a hum from Grimmjow, who really looked like he wanted to go to sleep.

His figure was turning transparent too.

”Are you...okay?”

_”Reaching ya this far away when the hatter keeps the blade in that damn box is harder than I thought, especially if I have to do excess shit like that memory thing.”_

The spirit mutters out, rubbing his eyes.

So it was not just emotional, but his energy was _literally_ draining away.

”...I see. I guess I could try and get him to hand it back to me.”

_”Why?”_

Ichigo bites his lip and looks aside.

Yeah, why did he want the zanpakuto back exactly?

Given what happened with the museum, how could Ichigo be sure the man would not do something like that again.

Why would he want to carry around something that dangerous?

”....I guess, I just... given my ancestor is connected to you, I feel kind of responsible? I don’t know.” Ichigo states with a shrug, avoiding Grimmjow’s gaze.

The blunet snorts at him, rubbing his eyes.

_”Do what ya want kid, M’ too tired ta care.”_

Ichigo was about to tell the man to stop calling him a kid, but the spirit disappears before he could say anything.

With a sigh, Ichigo gets up and walks to sit down to the bed, noting that there was a warm spot from where Grimmjow had sat on. It was peculiar, given he was a spirit. Ichigo gazes out of the window, pondering what he should do now. Getting the zanpakuto back seemed like the better option, if Grimmjow was bound to grow this tired and just disappear in the middle of the conversation.

However, convincing Urahara to give it back to him was another matter entirely.

 

 

 

For the past few days, Ichigo was too busy to really think about what to do with the issue; he had been off-duty for so long that the young shinigami had no choice but to attend back to his lessons.

That’s right, _lessons._

While he did already go on missions, that was purely because Ichigo happened to have natural skill with fighting and sensing spiritual pressure.

As a nineteen year old, he was currently the youngest active-duty Shinigami in the order.

Even his closest friends he often did these missions with, Renji and Rukia, they both were past their twenties.

Back then when this all started, Ichigo had had another, smaller reason to go with his friends; the school was boring, especially the lesson he was currently in, which discussed about using kido and such.

Yes, it was technically speaking a _highly_ important class for someone like him who struggled with it, but the teacher, a large round man named Hachigen Ushoda managed to make it sound so boring Ichigo found it hard to focus.

He was a nice man and definitely skilled kido user, but the ginger just couldn’t find it in himself to care for these lessons much.

The ginger tries to suppress a yawn, then flinches as his classmate kicks him under the table.

Ichigo gives the girl beside him a peeved look, but Tatsuki just glares back at him unimpressed.

”If you are well enough to attend, you should damn well pay attention.” She told him quietly.

Tatsuki was not part of the Shinigami order per say, but she had enough spiritual energy that the girl was allowed on some of these lessons, as she wanted to be able to defend herself from Hollows to some level.

Anybody who knew Tatsuki, would not tell her no.

”I’m trying, it’s just, he’s making this boring.”

Ichigo mumbles outm rubbing his eyes before slumping to the table with a sigh,

”At this rate you’ll never learn to control your spiritual energy properly.”

The girl huffs out a sigh and shakes her head, turning her attention back to their teacher, who’d started talking something about disguise spells.

”Ushoda - sensei, is it true that this can be used on objects as well?”

One of the students suddenly asked him, and the topic piqued Ichigo’s interest, as he lifts his head and listens to the answer curiously.

”Yes, one can in fact use this technique to disguise an object as something else. It is a highly useful tactic in the battlefield.”

As Ichigo listens the man explain how it could be achieved, he paid close attention to it, an idea forming in his head.

 

 

Once the ginger gets home, he walks upstairs without even greeting his sisters, deep in thought. Slumping to his chair, the young shinigami holds his chin, pondering on his options. Perhaps... he could disguise an object to look like the zanpakuto, and trick Urahara into thinking he still had it. The problem was, he knew the man was not a doofus with kido, and would perhaps sense if something was off about it.

Except... The blade did not usually give out Grimmjow’s aura due to the seal on it, so the blond man likely was not expecting anything to radiate from it.

Perhaps he didn’t _have_ to use any spells, all he had to do was physically mask the blade into looking like Grimmjow’s zanpakuto.

He had another one of those practice swords on his belt currently, because he’d needed it for today’s swordsmanship lessons. He excelled in those as usual, although Kuchiki - sensei - who was also Rukia’s big brother - did like to complain Ichigo was too reckless.

_”I can second that.”_

The ginger near jumps and turns to look at the spirit, who’d appeared sitting on his bed again.

He had that same exhausted look on his face, indicating appearing there took a lot of effort from him.

The ginger frowns at him slightly, but then glances towards the door. His family was still making a fuzz downstairs so they were good for now.

”I might have an idea on how to get your zanpakuto back; Urahara - san will not hand it over to me that easily because of what happened in the museum.”

Grimmjow tilts his head and looks at Ichigo like he said something stupid.

_”The fuck? Yer not the one who wrecked the place.”_

”I brought you there.”

Ichigo insisted, gaining a slight snort from the man, who rubs his eyes mildly irritated.

”Regardless of whose fault that was, the only way I can get you back..err, your sword!”

Ichigo corrects quickly, realizing how wrong that sounded.

The blunet just flashes him an amused smirk, but says nothing.

”The only way I can get your zanpakuto back is to trick Urahara into thinking he still has it.”

_”So yer plannin’ on stealing it? Ain’t you a sneaky little shit.”_

Ichigo pauses, his gaze casting downwards as he rubs his head lightly.

”I already did, sort of, didn’t I?”

Grimmjow says nothing, just stares at him dully. The ginger could not stop but wonder if he was too tired to really react much thanks to the difficulty of being able to project himself to Ichigo now when there was a double sealing put on his zanpakuto.

Ichigo sighs and places his practice blade to the table.

It was about the same size as Grimmjow’s, if a bit lighter.

As Ichigo examines it closely however, he realizes there was a hitch on his plan; he could not remember exactly how the blue blade looked like.

Despite wielding it so often as well as examining it, he just could not recall every single detail. Ichigo frowns, pondering if this was going to be a good idea after all. He also felt kind of bad about the idea of stealing from his friend and mentor, but he really wanted to have the zanpakuto back so he could talk with the spirit properly. What exactly drove him to this extend, Ichigo wasn’t sure, but after he’d been shown that memory of his ancestor...he just needed to know everything.

It was clear a great tragedy had happened in the past, and for some reason nobody in current times knew of it, nobody but Ichigo, and this lack of knowledge had to be purposeful.

_”Keep frownin’ like that and yer face is gonna be stuck that way.”_

The voice came right next to his ear, and it made Ichigo jump and turn to look at the blunet, who’d actually walked beside him, leaning his palm against the table.

Strangely enough, he seemed less tired now than when he’d been sitting on Ichigo’s bed.

”I just...I kind of realized I don’t actually remember exactly how your blade looks like...”

Ichigo mutters out, gaining an amused smirk from the man. It was kind of unnerving, to have him stand this close, especially when Ichigo knew what the man could do even in spirit form. The man chuckles at him seemingly amused, and the ginger frowns at the spirit confused.

_”It’s hard ta believe given how much you fondled it.”_

Ichigo’s face gains color, and he reflexively attempts to slap the spirit’s shoulder, only that his hand goes right trough.

So, he just proceeds to glare up at the man embarrassed with his brown eyes, making Grimmjow’s smirk grow even wider. It was kind of creepy, especially with the fangs, but also had a strange charming quality to it.

_”Well... ya might wanna check the notebook.”_

The spirit finally comments with a shrug, making Ichigo lift eyebrow at him. He then proceeds to move to the wooden box and picks the book out from there, walking back to his chair and opening it.

”Where?” He asks, looking up at Grimmjow questioningly.

The man just snatches the book from him - he was apparently able to switch between semi-solid and ghostly at will, which was a little puzzling as something like that should be hard to do for him right now.

Ichigo watches as Grimmjow scrolls trough the book casually, not even stopping once to read the text, either because he’d seen it all before or because he just didn’t care.

Finally, he stops at a page and hands the book back over.

For Ichigo’s surprise, this page had illustrations, and they reminded him of Miyako’s drawings.

_”His wife borrowed it once, said she wanted ta draw somethin’ in it fer him.”_

Ichigo examines the images curiously; the woman had illustrated her husband in a near perfect portrait, but there was also something else. A portrait of Grimmjow.

And next to it, an illustration of his zanpakuto.

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and he looks up at the man questioningly, who shrugs.

_”She liked ta draw people she met, but didn’t dare ta have an image of an Espada on her place, so she sketched it there instead.”_

”So you met her?” Ichigo half-asks half-states with a curious look in his eyes.

Grimmjow just glares at him, annoyed again.

_”For fuck’s sake. You’ve been readin’ that thing for ages now. I’m pretty damn sure that has been mentioned there.”_

”I never made it to that part I think, but...”

Ichigo shakes his head, figuring this was pointless.

He could use the colored illustration to his advantage. He also had scribbled down the seal symbol in the blade earlier just in case. That made him wonder though...

”Why didn’t we notice it sooner? The seal I mean. I feel Urahara would have noticed it.”

Grimmjow shrugs, he had no clue how the damn thing worked, he only knew what it did to him.

Ichigo remains quiet, then leans back with a sigh and rubs his eyes.

”I’ll be able to do this on the weekend; there’s this carnival happening then and my family is going there, and knowing Urahara-san, he’ll go too.”

_”You guys party like crazy; how do you get anything done, being **drunk** all the time?” _

Ichigo gives him a mildly annoyed sideways glance.

”We are allowed to relax; being constantly at warpath is tiresome to any human.”

Grimmjow flashes him a dark grin, making a chill travel down Ichigo’s spine.

_”I ain’t human.”_

 

 

 

As expected, his family was quite eager to head out for the carnival.

Ichigo had told them he had to stay behind due to being behind at schoolwork. Karin was clearly slightly suspicious, but said nothing knowing that her brother usually had a reason to be secretive of things.

As long as he didn’t plan on doing something stupid it was fine.

Ichigo waits until his family was gone, then proceeds to work on decorating the fake blade, slowly making it look like the real thing. His whole plan was kind of crazy, depending on the assumption that Urahara would not check on it, not right away at least. Doing it this way was a safer bet than using the kido spell, as the man could probably sense that.

The sword wasn’t really supposed to reek of spiritual pressure, not unless Ichigo used it.

It was a fact he was still a little puzzled about; why was he able to pull out Grimmjow’s energy, let alone why the man allowed him to do so. Ichigo shakes his head, knowing it was not the time to ponder this. He could ask about it from Grimmjow directly later on. Eventually Ichigo was done, and comparing the blade with the model picture, he was pretty satisfied.

Likely - or hopefully - Urahara would not notice the switch too soon.

With a deep sigh, the ginger puts the masking stuff away to prepare for the next step in the operation. It was getting dark, indicating the time for the carnival was near. He takes in a deep breath and focuses; using kido spells was still hard, but Ichigo had been practicing this one for days now. It was an invisibility spell, similar to what one used to mask themselves away from hollows, but this one also turned you invisible.

Soon enough, his body began to turn transparent, and Ichigo almost grinned pleased at how it was working. Unfortunately doing that caused the spell to start fading, and he flickered between visible and invisible for a bit.

”Alright, so I just gotta keep focusing.”

Ichigo mutters with a grimace once he gets it back under control, and the young shinigami sneaks out, heading for Urahara’s house.

The way there was empty, as not that many lived in that area. Soon enough however, Ichigo spots a familiar group heading his way, and despite being invisible, he dashes to hide in the bushes just in case. Urahara was chatting happily with his usual group of two kids and Tessai, clearly eager to see the carnival. For a man with such a job, Urahara could be very childish at times. Ichigo tenses as they pass by him, but the group doesn’t seem to notice or sense the young shinigami hiding in the bush.

The ginger waits until they vanish from sight, before dashing towards the house.

The door was locked as expected, so Ichigo looks for alternate route in.

He was fairly certain there had to be some sort of spells in place too to secure the house. As he walks around to the back, Ichigo notes that a window was left open; it felt unusual at first, but then he spots the black cat jumping in from it. So the cat was actually Urahara’s, or the man at least let it drop by?

Ichigo sneaks to the window as well, and focuses, searching for any traces of kido.

The window seemed clean, no traps on it, so he climbs in, trying to make as little noise as possible, just in case. As he slips in, Ichigo finds the cat staring at him, yellow eyes glowing from the darkness. While it was just a cat, Ichigo still felt like a deer caught in headlights a little. Animals could likely see him even when using the invisiblity spell, given their senses were much keener than humans’.

”I’m just borrowing something for a bit, I’ll return it eventually.”

Ichigo tells the kitty, then feels awkward about talking to it.

The cat just gazes at him, before licking its paw and walking further into the house, disappearing from sight. Ichigo scrambles up and looks around, wondering where Urahara would be keeping the zanpakuto. His laboratory was one choice, but the library was a good guess as well. Ichigo decides to check the library first, as it was closer to the window he’d sneaked in from. It was kind of spooky in there when the only light was coming from the moon outside, but Ichigo didn’t dare to switch on the lights.

Instead, he takes out the kido-flashlight thing he, Renji and Rukia had used during their trip to hueco mundo.

Ichigo lights it up, first almost blinding himself due to accidentally using too much kido - focusing on staying invisible was hard enough - but eventually he manages to tune it down to an acceptable level. Ichigo scrolls trough the books, checks trough the empty shelves and even the couch for any hidden compartments, but he couldn’t find anything. Sighing, he leans against a wall, pondering if he should go for the laboratory instead.

That’s when the wall he was leaning against gives away, and Ichigo nearly stumbles, backing away and watching as a secret door opens to the floor, revealing a set of stairs. Ichigo should not have been surprised to see a thing like this in Urahara’s house, but he’d never seen that hatch before. Swallowing down nervously, he decides to check it out and starts descending the stairway slowly.

What felt like ages but was probably only a minute or so, Ichigo arrives to a dimly lit room that looked like an office of a conspiracy theorist.

There were boards on the walls with a lot of things stuck in them; notes, drawings, photos, all sorts of things. As Ichigo examines them closely, he realizes most of the photos were taken by him and his friends. They were the photos taken from the Palace.

”Is...Urahara san also researching into this whole thing?"

Ichigo mutters out, looking around the room. He was so focused on all the things around him, that the young shinigami fails to notice a trap, up until he steps on it. A second later, solid beams of kido shoot from all around him, trapping him into a kido formed cage.

”Shit!”

Ichigo curses himself, unable to move one bit.

A chuckle catches his attention, and Ichigo finds the spirit sitting on the table, leaning against his knee lazily.

_”Sup, master thief?”_

Ichigo wanted to groan at his taunting comment, but figures there was no point in getting provoked over that.

”I’m not used to having to avoid traps from him. Urahara is a friend.”

Grimmjow says nothing, just slips off the table gracefully like a feline, which was fitting to the form Ichigo had seen earlier, let alone the whole panther symbolism associated with him. He walks to Ichigo, stopping just few feet away, still clearly amused.

”Uh...I might need some help.”

Ichigo admits after struggling against the kido trap for a moment. His invisibility spell had ended and the torch had turned off as well, him having lost focus after being caught by surprise. If he had proper control over this he could in all likeness diffuse this thing or destroy it.

....He could still destroy it, but he’d probably destroy Urahara’s house accidentally too, which he didn’t want to do.

Grimmjow just examines him for a moment, clearly enjoying his blight way too much.

”Do you want out of here or not?”

Ichigo demands a little peeved now about the way his need of assistance was being ignored.

The blunet remains quiet, watching him squirm irritated for a few more gleeful seconds, before slowly lifting his hand, morphing his fingers into those black claws he had in that feline form.

_”You might wanna prepare yerself.”_

He states simply, sticking his claws into the nearest pillar.

The black nails sink into the kido beam nearest to him, bits of blue energy slowly working it’s way around the orange glow trapping Ichigo, up until it was filled with blue, vein like structures all around him.

Grimmjow’s eyes flashed a bit closer to that sharp, cat-like look, and he clenches his fingers as if grabbing something.

The kido prison shatters instantly, the sheer energy from it actually sending Ichigo stumble backwards a little, slight burns appearing to his skin and clothing.

For a moment, Ichigo’s ears rang, and he just stares at the grinning spirit dumbfounded.

Finally, Ichigo scrambles up and dusts his clothes, wincing lightly as he did som given the fact his palm was slightly burned.

”What the hell was that?!”

_”I thought ya **wanted** out.” _

The spirit shrugs at him, walking back to sit on the table, hands in his pockets now.

Ichigo just stares at him, then shakes his head; no.

He should not let this jerkish ’king’ or whatever annoy him.

”Where’s your zanpakuto?”

Grimmjow just nods towards a tightly sealed box.

Ichigo approaches it cautiously, noting it had more symbols than the one given to him. Likely there were traps in it.

”Opening this thing has to be dangerous.”

_”Aye. There’s at least three spells in it that can really sting ya if you ain’t careful.”_

Grimmjow comments casually from his sitting spot, making Ichigo glance at him.

”You could have warned me of that previous trap too.” He states slightly miffed, only gaining a slight smirk from the blunet.

_”Woulda not have been as fun. Sides that one wasn’t even dangerous.”_

Ichigo huffs, muttering that the way Grimmjow had ’helped’ him was, but he turns his attention back to the box, examining the symbols closely.

He recognized a few; a sealing spell that hid it away from beings able to track spiritual pressure. Another one seemed to be some sort of binding spell that would tie up anyone attempting to open it carelessly.

There was a lock on it, but it had no keyhole, indicating it used something else for opening it.

Ichigo stands up and walks to the table, looking around the stuff. There had to be something here that would help opening the box. Ichigo ignores the blue eyes watching him for now, up until he sees something of interest Grimmjow happened to sit on.

”Move your butt, unless you want me to reach trough you.”

Ichigo orders the spirit, who smirks at him lightly.

_”What makes ya think I’d let you?”_

”Can you just cooperate for once? I’m trying to help you!” Ichigo huffs out slightly frustrated, making the blunet glare at him with a deep frown.

_”Ya just want yer curiosity satisfied. What reason ya got to help me? You don’t even know what the fuck is going on!”_

”That’s why I’m trying to find the answers, so I can help!”

Ichigo huffs back at him, glancing towards the doorway; he was concerned that the group would come back sooner than expected. He did not want to be caught red-handed and having to explain Urahara why he’d sneaked in here without permission.

The blunet just stares at him blankly for a moment, as if Ichigo’s words caught him off guard.

Then, he finally shifts, allowing the ginger to check trough what he’d gotten interested in; it was a sheet of paper with the lock’s picture on it.

Apparently there was a some sort of symbol engraved onto the lock, and there was a matching stone to it somewhere in there. The slip of paper was likely a reminder to the man himself what the key was, as Urahara could be a little forgetful at times.

”Have you seen this around here?”

Ichigo questions the spirit, pointing at the picture of the stone.

Grimmjow glances at it boredly, his eyes slowly drifting towards a direction.

Ichigo follows his gaze to a shelf that had more papers, books and other things in it. Soon enough, he finds the stone key from one of the boxes, and rushes to use it to open the box. Before he can however, Grimmjow grabs his wrist and stops him.

_”That ain’t enough; ya need ta defuse the spells first.”_

Ichigo looks up at him with a frown.

”I don’t know all of them so I can’t do anything to those.”

Grimmjow snorts, muttering something under his breath about ’dumb kids’ or so, before poking one of the symbols with his foot.

_”This one’s just a simple explosion curse; the second ya open the chest, it’ll basically blow in yer face.”_

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and he shifts away a little.

”What’s the point on having any of the others with that in there?”

_”They activate in different stages; if ya by chance don't get knocked out cold the explosion an’ try ta touch it again, a second trap activates.”_

Grimmjow explains casually, gaining a curious look from Ichigo.

”How do you...?”

_”I’ve been here for days; I’ve had time to observe his shit.”_

The blunet tells Ichigo, giving him a look as if to say this had to have been obvious.

The ginger frowns, not really liking the way Grimmjow was making him feel dumb right now, but once again, he was on a time crunch.

”So... do you know how to diffuse it?”

The blunet flashes him a smirk.

_”Why should I tell ya? Seeing ya go trough all the tricks in this thing would be fun.”_

Ichigo glares at him, which in turn only widened Grimmjow’s grin; he really liked annoying this little shit.

Being trapped by yourself for so long with nothing but your own bitter thoughts had been a bore, so messing with someone like this was a welcome change.

”Grimmjow, I don’t have time for your little games; Urahara and his group can show up back here at any moment, and we need to be out of here before that happens.”

The grin on the blunet’s face fades away and he glares at Ichigo annoyed, informing him he was a party-popper.

Ichigo informs the man that he didn’t care.

For a moment the two just glare at each other, then Grimmjow huffs, ruffling trough his hair with an irritated sigh, turning his gaze at the box.

_”There’s a quicker way. I can sorta do the same to it as I did with that trap ya activated; I couldn't do any of that shit earlier, but now that yer sorry as is here, it should work.”_

Ichigo’s eyes widen in worry.

”But... given the nature of these traps, won’t it blow up the house?”

_”Nah; yer hatter buddy has reinforced this place, likely because of the powerful tricks he’s got hidin’ in this room.”_

Ichigo pauses, looking around a little uneasy.

Then another question pops into his head.

”How... how are you able to use so much spiritual energy right now? Shouldn’t that box and the seal in the zanpakuto hold it back? You struggled so much just keeping a visible projection for me...”

Grimmjow looks aside, as if he didn’t really want to explain this. Finally, he relents however; he'd sorta outed himself already with the previous statement anyway.

_”....Fer some reason yer presence makes it easier. M’guessing your spiritual pressure cracked the seal or something when ya first touched my blade, so when you show up closer, it’s not as hard.”_

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that, then thinks back at how Grimmjow had come to stand beside him when Ichigo explained his plan. Yeah, it did seem like it was easier for him to focus and stay there when he was closer.

”That is... weird.”

Ichigo admits, examining the box for a moment. He could sense the man didn’t like this fact, so he chose not to further inquire into it.

”So, what are we gonna do?”

Grimmjow smirks a bit, and before Ichigo could react, he sinks his claws into the ginger’s chest, making him stiffen.

It didn’t really hurt per say as there was no physical nails sinking into his flesh, but it looked _freak_ y as fuck.

_”I could do this directly now that I got enough energy available, but the damn thing has a hollow proof seal on the outside. So I gotta borrow yer body a bit.”_

Before Ichigo could protest, the blunet disappeared from sight, and he felt familiar pressure enter his brain.

The ginger steps back, holding his head as he naturally resists the takeover.

 

_Relax, kid. This won’t take long if you cooperate._

 

Ichigo had to fight against his every instinct to force his body to relax, and eventually let the numbing feeling take over, as somebody else takes control of his form.

His hair turns white again, and his eyes shift into the black and blue hollow ones.

A grin appears on his face, as the spirit glances at himself.

He always enjoyed the feeling of having a physical body again, but he didn’t like sticking in this particular one for too long. Kurosaki was too babyfaced for his taste.

As in, he didn’t want to _keep_ this body.

He wouldn’t mind _fucking_ someone this cute.

Kurosaki had more going on for him in the looks department than Kaien had, likely because the kid reminded his mother more. At least, that's what Grimmjow had deduced based on the fact the boy looked almost nothing like his doofus of a dad.

Grimmjow almost smacks himself for even thinking that.

 

He turns his focus to the box, crouching in front of it and planting a hand on top of it. With a flick of a wrist, he summons the claws on his hand - an action that likely hurt Kurosaki a bit as he was not used to physical morphing, but he didn’t care - and sinks them against the wooden box, burying them at least an inch deep.

All the seals on the box began to glow, but the spirit just smirks, sending a jolt of spiritual pressure into the thing trough the claws.

Merged with Kurosaki’s power, the hollow-seal doesn’t recognize his spiritual pressure as a threat, and thus get’s overridden with ease, allowing him to mess with the rest of the kido spells and seals.

His grin widens as he bleeds more energy into the thing, right up until all the seals bust into flames so bright that he couldn’t see anything.

Eventually, all that was left was a pile of ash, and his zanpakuto resting on top of it.

He could hear a small protest at the back of his head as he picks the blade up, relishing in the feeling to be able to hold it once again. Not that this was the first time per say, but it felt more real when the actual owner of the body wasn’t resisting his domination as much as last time he did this, let alone was unconscious. It was a weird thing, but as long as the owner was not cooperative - be it they resisted or were unconscious - the possession thing left you with a numb, uneven feeling.

The only way for the foreign soul and body to work perfectly in sync was either for the original owner to die, or the two souls work in harmony.

 

_You weren’t supposed to destroy the box! Now Urahara will know someone was here and took it!_

 

 

Grimmjow snorts, the sound strange in his ears when it came with the higher voice of the younger male.

He hated sounding this... _cute._

”Relax, kid. You gotta know a kido spell that can undo the damage on an object.”

 

_...I do but I’m not good at it._

 

Grimmjow snorts, not surprised one bit.

”How the fuck are you still alive? Kido is basic stuff for ya guys, just like Ceros are for us.”

 

_Cero?_

 

Grimmjow frowns, the expression more typical on the ginger’s face.

For a brief moment one could have thought it was Ichigo controlling the body, had it not been the white hair and weird aura around him.

”How much shit did they hide from ya brats? You don’t even know what’s a cero? It’s basic hollow shit.”

 

_....Never heard of it. Is it some sort of Kido thing?_

 

The spirit shakes his head, figuring this was not the time to educate the ignorant kid about anything.

He looks trough Ichigo’s memories - a thing the ginger clearly did not enjoy as he could sense slight resistance again - and quickly finds the spell needed.

He had never used a restoration spell himself, so Grimmjow did not know any, but he did know how to use his spiritual energy.

All he needed was Kurosaki’s knowledge.

 

Soon enough, the box was back as it was, and the possessed figure places the fake sword into the box, closing it as if it had never been messed with in the first place. He also brings the keystone the kid took and brings it back to the right place, making sure everything was left as it was.

 

_Can I get my body back now?_

 

”Mmm I don’t know; I like having one after such a long time.”

Grimmjow purrs at him, feeling a sliver of fear emanating from the ginger’s soul.

He chuckles, then slowly slips away, allowing Ichigo to have back what was his.

The ginger gasps and nearly falls to the floor, managing to stay upright by sheer miracle. He looks around dazed for a bit, then shakes his head, figuring he had to get out of there quickly.

Climbing up the stairs cautiously, he looks around, noting the house was still empty. Using the same button he’d accidentally pressed to reveal the secret staircase, Ichigo closes the path, his heartbeat slightly fastened.

The possession thing was never pleasant, but he especially didn’t like the feeling of somebody poking into his memories so casually. Then again, he had done the same so supposedly they were even now.

”Let’s get out of here and fast.”

Ichigo mutters out, squeezing the hilt of the blue zanpakuto, and he hurries back towards the window he’d entered from, not noticing the black cat still watching him.

 

 

Ichigo sneaks back into his home, noting it was still empty, which was a good thing.

As he enters his room, the ginger releases a slow sigh and stops his invisibility kido, slumping to the bed for a moment.

Focusing so much took a lot of juice out of him, and Grimmjow’s possession didn’t help much.

_”Really? That’s enough to suck all the energy out of ya?”_

The aforementioned spirit was sitting backwards on his chair, leaning his arms over the backrest with an amused grin. Ichigo noted he looked much more energetic and solid now, indicating that having the sword nearby made keeping up a visible form much easier.

”As you obviously know, Kido isn’t my strong point.”

_”No shit; how the hell do ya fight against hollows usually? Hit them with your sword and swing it around hoping you hit something?”_

Ichigo actually blushes a little and looks away, muttering a quiet ’maybe’ under his breath.

Grimmjow just snickers at that, though he was slightly impressed too; based on what he’d learned about Kurosaki so far, he was resilient as all hell, and being able to fight as good as he did without much kido usage... it wasn’t too bad, especially of someone in his fairly inexperienced age.

”So...what is a cero?”

Ichigo blurts out suddenly, and it takes a moment from Grimmjow to realize that yeah, he did mention that, and the kid mentioned he didn’t know what the fuck it was.

Grimmjow snorts, then shifts to sit on the bed as well, making Ichigo sit up and tug his legs to himself a little, either out of unease or to simply make space for him.

Maybe both.

_”It’s basically a very powerful energy beam hollows have. Well, the strongest hollows anyway; I’m guessing you’ve dealt mostly with small fry so you haven’t seen one.”_

”It’s... not something our books mention about them either.”

Grimmjow snorts, brushing trough his hair.

_”I ain’t too surprised; even back then, mainly those of our level could do ’em or the menos which are rare, and since majority of us are dead...”_

Grimmjow pauses and looks aside, his thoughts edging dangerously towards a certain man.

Messing with the kid had left him with a pleasant mood, so he didn’t want to sink right back into that bitter, uncontrollable anger.

_”Anyway. It’s probably easier ta show ya.”_

He reaches a hand out and pokes Kurosaki’s forehead, sending him into another memory.

 

 

This one was of a battle, where Ichigo found him and some other of his kind fighting against a giant sized hollow.

Ichigo had heard legends of those, but never thought they were real.

”Is that...a menos?”

”That’s what ya guys called ’em. I personally just liked ta call ’em ’big dumb fuckers."

Grimmjow tells him with a smirk, and Ichigo almost rolled his eyes at the typical remark.

He was however soon captured by watching Grimmjow’s past self battle against the giant alongside a blond woman and the green haired one from earlier.

”Tia and Nelliel.”

Grimmjow comments simply, glancing at Ichigo.

The ginger just nods, slightly surprised the man had bothered to introduce the two to him. His gaze drifts back at the heated battle ahead, and he could tell from the maddening grin on the blunet’s face, he was thoroughly _enjoying_ the bloody fight.

His strikes left deep gashes onto the creature, blood oozing out of the wounds like morbid waterfalls.

The other two were also impressive, their attacks about as powerful.

”This fucker ventured too close to ta palace. It could’ve destroyed it so we had ta wipe the floor with it.”

Grimmjow explains simply, a hint of enthusiasm in his tone.

He was clearly somebody who enjoyed battles and spilling blood, no question about it.

Suddenly, the giant creature opens its large mouth, and a glowing sphere of red energy appears between the massive teeth. Ichigo falters, but Grimmjow just smirks, obviously knowing what was coming.

” _That’s_ a cero, though the ones menos fire are weak as fuck.”

”That looks pretty powerful.”

Grimmjow just looks down at him with a wide, borderline insane grin, and Ichigo backs further away slightly upon seeing it.

”You’ll see what I mean. Just watch.”

Ichigo turns his attention back to the battle, and for his shock, sees that while the other two retreated, past Grimmjow stood still, staring at the massive red blast in the face.

His expression was that of an excited grin, like he wasn’t scared the slightest.

Ichigo sees the man lift his hand, forming claws with his fingers, and a second later, similar, red orb appears into his hand.

It was a lot smaller, but Ichigo had a feeling the size didn’t matter.

The beast fires its attack at the blue haired man, who just grins and waits. Ichigo’s protective side itched to go and and push him out of the way, but a hand grasps his arm, reminding him this was just a memory.

Seconds later, the past Grimmjow releases his own attack, and Ichigo stares in shock as it actually blocks and eradicated the giant energy beam, shooting towards the creature and blasting it in the head.

The pressure wave was so powerful that it sent rocks and dust flying miles away, and Ichigo nearly attempts to dodge few sent their way, only for them to pass trough the two as once again, he was reminded it was a memory, not actually happening right now.

Once the dust settles, Ichigo watches in shock as the giant staggers backwards, it’s mask completely cracked all over and bleeding profusely.

Moments later, the thing _breaks_ , and the beast lets out an eardrum breaking shriek, before black and red liquid gushes out skywards like some macabre fountain, sending blood rain down all around them.

Eventually, nothing was left of the giant creature but the bits of white mask and the robe-like black thing, slumping to the ground like an empty jacket.

Ichigo’s ears rang, but he soon heard a voice that he recognized.

It was the blunet, the memory one to be exact.

He was standing in the middle of the bloody rain, and he was _laughing._

An unstable, mad cackle that sent chills down Ichigo’s spine.

It reminded him of Kenpachi a little, but it was somehow more terrifying, perhaps because he had never seen the bell-haired freak destroy something this big, not that he couldn’t.

Kenpachi _definitely_ could if there were those big ones around.

Moments after the bloody rain ends, the two women appear, with the geen haired one - Nelliel was it? - scolding Grimmjow loudly.

”You went too far! We didn’t have to kill it outright, just wound it enough to make it back away!”

”It’s not my fault yer squirmish fer blood.”

The memory Grimmjow tells her bluntly, licking the blood away from his lips with a mad grin.

Ichigo found it absolutely terrifying, but the two women did not seem to be phased one bit, clearly used to it.

Nelliel just sighs and shakes her head, hands on her hips.

”Surely, for somebody of our kindred, you are an utter beast sometimes, Jeagerjaquez.”

The blunet just smirks at her, ruffling trough his hair to get the blood off from it.

”Can’t disagree with her.”

Ichigo looks up at the blunet beside him cautiously, noting that the man was examining him with slight curiosity, clearly interested in his reaction.

He was apparently pleased by what he saw, as the next second he smirks, though it was nowhere near as terrifying as the mad grin his past self had had earlier.

”Like I said earlier; Menos’ ceros are pretty pathetic compared ta ours. Besides, that was only my third strongest spiritual energy technique.”

Ichigo blinks, swallowing down hard.

”...Third strongest?”

He tried to sound casual or mildly curious, but his tense body language gave his unease away.

”Basic cero is something we all can do. As in, all arrancar, which refers to us more humanoid hollows. We had plenty of other arrancar as underlings and servants. Us ten Espadas had our own technique called Gran Rey Cero, which is ten times stronger than that.”

Ichigo stares up at him eyes wide, and the man was clearly enjoying the fact Ichigo was pretty impressed, if uneasy.

”Third one’s specific to each Espada. It’s our strongest ability.” Grimmjow explains with a shrug.

He could show the other two to the kid, but he was clearly already kind of freaked out by what he just saw, so the man decided against it for now.

The ginger turns his attention back to the slowly fading memory, watching the three figures walk back towards the palace, Grimmjow still soaked in blood.

”You people were so _powerful_...how could one shinigami take out all of you?”

He mutters out, not noticing the way the blunet tensed beside him. He did not get angry at the kid for mentioning that bastard however, not when he was clearly impressed by the strength portrayed by Grimmjow. The fact Kurosaki found it incomprehensible anyone could threaten him or his kind - mainly him - flattered the blunet even if he didn’t want to admit it.

Once they return back to the real world, the brown orbs were still staring at him in slight shock, and the ginger was hugging his knees, as if not really knowing how to react right now.

He snaps out of it once Grimmjow snaps his fingers in front of Kurosaki’s eyes.

Ichigo shakes his head and brushes trough his hair several times, as if expecting there was blood on it.

Grimmjow almost wanted to chuckle at his shock, but holds it in for now; he could laugh his ass off later when the kid was asleep.

 

 

That night, Ichigo lies awake in his bed, Grimmjow’s zanpakuto safely tucked inside the box under his bed.

He could not get the memory shown to him out of his mind.

It was so brutal and powerful, which made Aizen’s overwhelming victory against the man even more puzzling.

There was also fear knocking at the back of his head; was he really doing the right thing be seeking the truth about this?

By being friendly to the spirit? Because...what he just saw did indicate Aizen had had a reason to be against the Espada.

When it came to Grimmjow at least, he was _clearly_ some level of psychotic monster.

The flashy way he’d killed the giant creature eluded to that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So  
> I have no clue if the ceros the arrancar used are more powerful than the menos ones in Bleach.  
> Which is why I just went with a headcanon here that they are.  
> I like writing Grimmjow being his brutal self.  
> Flashy


	10. Surprise attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another trouble-filled day for poor Ichigo.  
> School just can't get any worse.  
> Unless you add a sneaky Hollow attack.

The next couple of days had been nerve-wrecking for Ichigo, as he fully expected Urahara to pop up and demand him to return the sword.

Well not demand, but at least scold him and inform him that what he did was crazy dangerous.

Nothing happened however; in fact, he did not see the man at all anywhere, not even in the Shinigami headquarters when he dropped by there to return some paperwork his dad had forgotten; normally the man would've vocalized his discomfort instantly about being too close to so many people he wanted to kill. usually in a manner that gave Ichigo a headache or left him short of breath.

Grimmjow had stayed mostly quiet for now, and Ichigo wasn’t sure if it was because he was having second thoughts on talking to the ginger or if he was just letting the young man process what he’d been shown.

Indeed, Ichigo still couldn’t get the image of the blunet ripping a creature at least twenty times his size into pieces in the flashiest, goriest way possible.

After witnessing that... Ichigo just _couldn’t_ imagine any shinigami be strong enough to defeat someone of Grimmjow’s level, let alone ten of them all by themselves.

Granted, there was Kenpachi, but Aizen was never described to be like that bloodthirsty bell-spiked bullhead.

The ginger sighs as he leans back against the wall, currently in the school roof.

Given he was the _only_ person who was currently both a student _and_ an active duty Shinigami, lot of his fellow students tended to ask dozens of questions from him about everything and anything, so Ichigo preferred eating his lunch up there in peace.

The only ones who really knew where Ichigo went were Tatsuki, Chad and Keigo.

All three were not an official part of the Shinigami school program, but both Chad and Tatsuki did attend to some of those classes due to their spiritual sensitivity, as they wanted to cultivate it somehow.

Keigo however, was an old schoolmate back when Ichigo attended the normal classes, and he was a complete airhead in several levels, not just with slack of knowledge or sensitivity in spiritual stuff.

Sure enough, the trio shows up to the roof after a moment, bringing their lunch with them.

” _Ichigooo!_ We can finally enjoy lunch together again!’”

Keigo declares and attempts to glomp him, but the ginger plants a hand on his face and shoves the over-eager brunet back, drinking his juice calmly.

”Leave him be Keigo; Ichigo’s had a rough couple of weeks.”

Tatsuki scolds him, before sitting down near Ichigo.

”Really though; you should try and be more careful. Inoue has been super worried about you.” The black haired girl tells Ichigo with a frown, gaining an apologetic smile from the ginger, who rubs his head awkwardly.

”Sorry, it’s just...it’s kinda part of the job.”

”Getting yourself injured as often as you have been lately is not.”

Ichigo remains quiet, taking a bite from his sandwich as he wondered just how much Inoue had told Tatsuki.

Urahara had asked her to be quiet about the spirit she’d witnessed, but Inoue and Tatsuki were close friends, and it wasn’t easy for the orangette to keep secrets from her.

”Really. Whatever is going on right now, try to be more careful.” Tatsuki tells him, squeezing her friend’s shoulder.

Ichigo just nods, promising to be more careful from now on. It was not like he wanted to end up in these situations; it was just... dealing with the blue haired spirit was unpredictable at best.

”Soooo, what exactly has been going on? It’s suuper weird to see you skip school when you don’t have missions!” Keigo joins in the conversation, clearly curious.

Ichigo just gives him a pointed look, reminding him that he would not be able to discuss Shinigami business with commoners.

”You’re no fun!” Keigo complains, crossing his arms and making a pouty face.

The girl rolls her eyes at him and smacks his head lightly, before focusing on her own fruity lunch.

”So, Chad, how have you been? Haven’t been able to catch up with you given I’ve been... busy.”

The tall young man hums, before telling him he was fine.

Chad was not the most talkative person in the world, but that was fine. Ichigo had known him for a long time so he was used to the silence.

”Are you going to go on missions soon, or are they still just keeping you on stand by?”

Ichigo shrugs, as in all honesty he had no clue; he had not been explicitly told to not join in on missions, nor had he been called to do so.

”Given I’m still technically a student, they haven’t really given me any explicit instructions regarding to this. I’m guessing they’ll summon me if I’m needed. Otherwise I gotta focus on studying for now.”

Ichigo wasn’t too thrilled about it, but understood the importance.

”Well you better start showing up then! You are so far behind and you’ll be having a test about Kido next week!”

Ichigo nearly spits his drink out as his eyes widen in slight panic; he’d _COMPLETELY_ forgotten about that test, and knew he’d be in trouble if he didn’t pass it.

**_”Shit!”_ **

The girl flashes him an amused smile upon seeing the reaction.

”I am guessing you forgot about it.”

”I don’t get why do I even have to take that thing! I’m already on active-duty!” Ichigo complains, throwing his juice box to the nearby trashcan.

”According to Hachi-sensei, its good to know the basics first so you don’t blow shit up accidentally.” Tatsuki reminds him for the umpteenth time.

She understood his disdain towards the stuff, but whining about it was not going to help; there was a reason why the Shinigami studied the basics first in theory, and when it came to somebody like Ichigo who was not only spiritually sensitive, but also had a lot of spiritual _pressure_ , he could end up blowing stuff up randomly if he didn't get the basic gist of it all first.

Ichigo sighs, biting the apple he also had bought for lunch.

 

Suddenly, a cold chill travels down his spine, and the ginger looks around cautiously.

As his eyes hit on his friends, Ichigo noted that Tatsuki and Chad seemed cautious too all of a sudden. The only one oblivious was Keigo, still drinking down his soda.

”Ichigo, can you sense that?”

Tatsuki asks cautiously, still looking around. It was always surprising to hear Tatsuki say that, as he tended to forget she was spiritually sensitive.

The girl just wasn’t spiritually powerful enough to be a Shinigami, as crazy as that sounded to anyone who knew the tough gal.

It was the whole thing with Spiritual sensitivity and pressure being two different things. One could sense auras, but could not necessarily do anything about it. Only those who could handle both got to be Shinigamis.

The ginger just nods and stands up slowly.

He could sense something was off nearby, which was a little unusual, given Hollows rarely showed up near the school given there were quite a few Shinigami there as teachers.

”Maybe it is one of those invisible ones?”

Chad hums quietly, and Ichigo figured he could be onto something; the presence was close by, but it did not seem any Shinigami in the building was reacting to it yet.

”Should we go warn Hachi-san or Kuchiki-sensei?"

Tatsuki asks quietly, also standing up.

Keigo was now looking at his friends confused, unable to sense what they did. Before the ginger could get anything out of his mouth, something suddenly charged at him, nearly knocking the ginger off the roof.

**_”ICHIGO!”_ **

Tatsuki yells, unable to see what had hurled past her.

The ginger looks up, finding he was being held down by some sort of octopi-like hollow. It was relatively small but had a tight grip, one of the tentacles wrapped around his neck and squeezing hard enough to cut off his hair. The only thing his friends could see was the way he was held in mid-air, his hands grasping onto something invisible.

”Ichigo!”

Tatsuki rushes to his aid, aiming to kick at whatever monstrosity was holding her friend.

However, the being just pushes itself higher up with the free tentacles, making her unable to hit it in the head. Seconds later, those invisible vines wrap around Tatsuki as well, and she struggles against the hold.

”Shit!”

The girl exclaims then coughs as the grip around her tightens.

Chad, who’d been covering for Keigo up until now, charges at the thing and manages to rip Tatsuki free. However, they are unable to do anything for Ichigo, who was held too high up in the air. the ginger stares at the weird hollow, still attempting to shrug it off him.

_”Fouuund you my delicious little boy. Now if you’d be kind and hand over that sword.”_

Sword?

So this one was after the zanpakuto as well?

Also, this hollow was a female? that was rare for some reason.

”I...don’t understand what the hell you are talking about!”

Ichigo spats at the creatures face, still trying to struggle. More tentacles wrap around him, immobilizing the young man. If he’d know how to use kido properly, dealing with this one would not be that difficult even without a sword.

However, being the way he was, Ichigo was almost always in trouble if he didn’t have a blade to use for channeling his spiritual pressure.

_”You do though, don’t you, boy?”_

The hollow cackles, then turns its attention at the three humans looking up at Ichigo. Tatsuki quickly tells Keigo to go and get one of their shinigami teachers, but before he could, something wet and icky lands on his shoulder.

”What the...?”

Ichigo watches in shock as the strange, seed-like thing attaches to his friend, and the next second Keigo goes still, his eyes turning hazy.

”What did you do?!” Ichigo demands from the hollow, who just snickers, spitting two more seeds that collide with his other two friends.

The ginger watches in horror as they too are taken over by that strange haziness, and a second later, start walking towards the edge of the roof.

_”Now, unless you want your little friends to die, why don’t you hand the King’s Blade over to me.”_

Ichigo glares at the hollow, then glances at his friends. Those seeds the thing had spat at them, they seemed to have some sort of mind-control properties.

Shit, why hadn’t any teacher _noticed_ this yet?

_”Well? How is it boy?”_

The hollow questions him maliciously, and the ginger glances at Keigo, who’s now stepped at the edge, that same glazed look in his eyes.

”W-wait! I don’t have it with me here!” Ichigo stutters out, feeling slight panic raise in his throat.

The hollow hums, then snickers at him again.

_”That’s too bad; which one should go first then? The wimp? The girl? Or maybe the big guy.”_

Ichigo watches as Chad steps on the edge too now, his eyes hidden by his hair as usual.

”I told you to wait! I cannot just magically summon it here!”

The female hollows ignores his plea, still contemplating on which one to kill first. That’s when Chad suddenly moves, grasping the two and throwing them back to the roof, grasping the seeds in their shoulders and ripping them off.

_”WHAT THE...”_

The next second, he grasps the trashcan with a roar, literally tearing it away from the floor, throwing it at the hollow. The thing quickly drops Ichigo to dodge the projectile aimed at her, and Ichigo lands on the roof, looking up at Chad in shock as the tall young man rips the seed thing off himself now.

_”I can see it somewhat. It tried to... get into my head.”_

Ichigo says nothing to that, just stands up to face the irritated hollow floating above them.

’Shit, if only I had a sword with me!”

Ichigo mutters out, knowing doing kido attacks without one would be hard for him. Wordlessly, Chad rips off the steel bar part of the trash can and hands it to Ichigo, who just stares at him stunned. He kept forgetting how **strong** this guy was.

”It is not a sword, but should work for now.”

Ichigo nods and grabs the makeshift weapon, quickly swinging it to ward off more seeds spat at them. He glances behind at Keigo and Tatsuki, who were scrambling off the floor, holding their heads.

”Get outta here!”

Ichigo orders the two, and they quickly dash towards the door, rushing downstairs to go and find one of their shinigami teachers.

”On your left Chad!”

Ichigo warns his friend as one of the tentacles suddenly charges at the big young man. He quickly side-steps, so the thing only manages to whip past his cheek, creating a slight cut. He then instantly grabs the tentacle and lets out another strong yell, managing to throw the hollow over his shoulder and crash it against the roof behind them.

”Holy shit Chad; wish your spiritual power was this strong!”

Ichigo comments truthfully, before whacking another tentacle aimed at him.

He then steps on it, making the hollow yelp, and he jumps in the air, aiming a powerful hit to the hollow’s mask. Before he could land it however, another tentacle whips out and wraps around him, throwing Ichigo against his friend.

They both stumble to the floor from the impact.

Second later, they were showered by a dozen of those seeds, nearly completely covering their bodies with it.

Ichigo could almost instantly feel the buzzing numbness invade his mind, and he tried to resist it. This was different from when Grimmjow possessed him; the man’s possession was always sudden, aggressive and often painful. This felt more like he’d been handed sedatives, and it was somehow harder to resist, despite likely being a weaker kind of possession.

_”Intolerable brat! I was supposed to get you to spill where the King’s Blade is, but since you insist on being a nuisance, I shall just kill you both now and go find it myself!”_

Ichigo manages to glance at Chad in horror, noting his friend was also struggling against this, but losing.

Where were their shinigami teachers?

Why wasn’t anybody showing up yet?

_”But first, I should torture you.”_

The hollow snickers gleefully, floating closer so she was above them. Ichigo cursed inside his head; why did he have to be so pathetic like this?

With all the power he was said to have, he was yet again struggling against a relatively weak hollow, only because he didn’t have a damned sword!

THIS was why he hated having to take those stupid tests and sit on classes. he never really felt like he could learn anything from them, all it did was keep putting him at risk the longer it took before he could get into proper practicing.

Suddenly, something else pokes into his mind, and Ichigo recognizes the sensation.

Seconds later, the seeds around him start to burn one by one, engulfed by blue flames.

_”What the...?!”_

Both the hollow and Chad look in slight shock as all the seeds attached to the ginger disappear, and he stands up slowly. Ichigo could tell his body was not entirely moving out of his own free will, but he did not resist the aid he was getting.

 

_Stop being so fucking pathetic. This bitch is even weaker than the guys ya fought when ya found me._

 

 

Right. Zanpakuto or not, all he had to do was focus. He couldn't use Kido, but he could still whack the thing's head in by using the pipe given to him by Chad, if he just got close enough.

 

_”What...what did you do?!”_

The female hollow demands, unnerved by the strange aura that had suddenly appeared within the boy.

It was _not_ an aura of a human or a Shinigami, and it terrified her in some strange, instinctual level.

 

Ichigo opens his eyes and grabs the metallic pipe again holding it firmly.

With all of his recent frustration and confusion over the blue haired spirit, constant injuries and worry over his friends just now, Ichigo had forgotten momentarily that all he needed in a fight was to follow his instincts. The hollow spits more seeds at him, but Ichigo dodges them all, charging at the being again. It brings up more tentacles to smack him off, but this time the ginger dodges them swiftly, using them as leverage to reach the thing’s head.

He swings the pipe and manages to smack the creature dead-center in the head, cracking its mask.

The tentacled hollow falls back with a shriek, blood gushing out from the fresh wound.

Ichigo quickly lands on his feet and jumps again, going after the creature that was now trying to flee. Before he could reach it however, another white coil manages to sneak to him and grab his leg, throwing him off balance and making him stumble to the floor. By the time Ichigo manages to stand up again, the hollow was gone, retreated for now.

A second later, Keigo and Tatsuki appear with Hachi-sensei, who looks around confused.

”Where is the hollow?”

”It fled!”

Ichigo informs him, pointing towards the direction the being had flown.

The chubby man frowns, gazing at the direction he was gesturing at.

”Are you certain? I cannot sense anything.”

”It was one of those invisible ones! That’s probably why only we sensed it, because we were close enough.”

The man looks down at Tatsuki surprised - Ichigo wasn’t the only one who forgot that this commoner was highly sensitive spiritually, even if not powerful - then turns serious.

”I’ll inform the Hq immediately we have one on the loose again. Kurosaki-kun, Chad-kun, you two better head for the medical center for now.”

Ichigo is about to nod, when suddenly something pokes in his brain, and he tenses.

Grimmjow had not left yet.

 

_She’s goin’ after yer fam._

 

 

Ichigo pales, then quickly dashes past them, with Tatsuki yelling after Ichigo confused.

The ginger ignores her for now, rushing down the stairs and out towards his house as fast as he could, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

”It was after your blade!”

 

_I fuckin’ know kid. I was listening._

 

”But why? It feels rather desperate to have so many hollows after it just for sentimental value.”

Grimmjow said nothing, but Ichigo could sense the man was agreeing with him.

 

 

 

As he arrives to his house, things seemed normal at first glance.

However, as he steps inside, Ichigo could immediately sense something was wrong. It was far too quiet for Kurosaki household, and he knew that his sisters should be home by now, given they had a short day at school. Cautiously, he steps to the living room.

”I...chi...”

a weak voice calls for him, and as he looks up, he fonds his sisters hanging on the roof, held by their throats with white tentacles. They also had those seeds stuck on them, but at the moment did not really seem to control their minds. That or they were there just to paralyze them.

”Let them go!”

Ichigo spats at the hollow, who just snickers at him.

_”Give me the blade first. It has to be here.”_

Ichigo bites his lip, contemplating on his options. Unlike Chad or Tatsuki, his sisters were more frail compared to them, and could get hurt much easier.

His dad was nowhere to be seen again for one reason or another, and Ichigo had no clue how soon reinforcements would arrive. By then, it could be too late for his sisters. Given the cramped space, it would be really hard for him to aim properly for the hollow's head with his pipe, which also made the situation more difficult; he had to come up with a plan and quickly.

_”Well? I don’t have whole day!”_

The hollow spats at him, squeezing his sisters tighter, making them cough and gasp for air.

Ichigo bites his lip and nods, inching towards the stairs.

Perhaps... if he could get Grimmjow's blade into his hands before the hollow got it, he could finish it off.

_”What are you doing?!”_

”The blade is in my room upstairs.”

The hollow floats after him instantly, tentacles stopping him from going upstairs.

_”As if I’d let you plan anything sneaky against me! I shall go get it myself.”_

 

Shit, this one wasn't as dumb as most of the other ones he'd faced.

 

”But you cannot open the box it is in, the thing is hollow proof.”

Ichigo attempts to remain calm, glancing at his sisters who were looking back at him frightened. Where the _hell_ was dad when he was needed?

The hollow hums, seemingly thinking about his words.

_”Bah! You’re just lying to catch me off guard!”_

She swiftly smacks Ichigo aside with her tentacle and floats to Ichigo’s room, dragging his terrified siblings with it. The room was relatively small, so the hollow was forced to pull in her tentacles a little as she looked around, giving Ichigo enough room to sneak in as well.

Soon enough, the creature spots the box Ichigo was referring to, but as she tries to touch it, her tentacle gets burned, and the thing shrieks, turning to glare at the ginger.

_”Open it, now! Don’t touch the blade!”_

Ichigo walks to the box and crouches next to it, hesitating.

On one hand, why shouldn’t he hand it over? The blade belonged to Hueco Mundo after all.

Based on what the hollow had said, she was _aware_ of the sword belonging to one of their kings.

However... Ichigo still had a gut feeling that Grimmjow would not like him handing his zanpakuto owner to a relative weakling like this sneaky hollow.

_”Hurry up! Or do you wish your cute little sisters to die?”_

The hollow squeezed them again, making both girls writhe in agony, struggling to breathe.

”Okay okay! Please don’t hurt them.”

He hurries to open the seal on the box, his fingers fumbling with it.

Why hadn’t anyone showed up yet?

Surely a Shinigami would’ve spotted this hollow already.

The second the lid opens, the hollow shoves him aside and grasps the blue blade with her tentacle, giggling madly.

_”Finally! This is why you should not send moronic imbeciles to do a job that requires intelligence!”_

 

Huh, that sounded almost like... like somebody was leading these hollows to try and get the weapon. It was peculiar, but right now ichigo did not have time to focus on this small tidbit of info; he glances towards his sisters, sneaking towards them while the thing was preoccupied.

Her hold from the two girls had loosened enough, so Ichigo could pry the two girls off and quickly whisper them to go downstairs.

The two just nod, eyes still wide, and leave the room, while Ichigo turns his attention back at the inavding hollow. He could try and use a kido-spell to at least gain its attention, but the danger was he’d just end up blowing up his room.

Before Ichigo could do anything however, the hollow suddenly shrieks and drops the blade, as if it had been burned.

He soon saw the reason why: the blade was glowing blue, just like all those times when Grimmjow had shown up to eradicate the hollow trying to take his zanpakuto. He'd been correct in his assumption that the blunet would not let some mere weakling handle his zanpakuto; granted he'd rather thought he'd have to grab the sword and do shit himself, but for now, the blunet seemed to be cooperative somewhat.

_”What sorcery is this? Did you try to trick me?!”_

The hollow screams at his face all of a sudden, a tentacle grasping his leg. The next second, he was swung around and thrown down the stairs, impacting with the floor _**hard.**_

Ichigo groans as he saw stars.

The next second, the hollow appears again, and Ichigo’s sisters watch in horror as he’s thrown trough the wall, landing on to the backyard with a groan.

_”You will pay for that trick! That blade wasn’t even the real one, was it?!”_

Before Ichigo could even respond, a voice interrupts them, and moments later the hollow shrieks again, trapped in a kido prison.

As Ichigo looks over his shoulder, he finds Hachi and Urahara standing behind him, with the former having created the barrier.

”What...what took you so long?”

Ichigo spits out blood as he scrambles to sit up, relieved.

”My apologies Kurosaki-kun. For some reason we could not locate exactly where this being had gone; Urahara-san deduced we’d likely find it here.”

Hachi tells him, glancing at the hat wearing man beside him.

”Yeah well, I couldn’t really see it either at first, not until it attacked me.”

Ichigo tells them, turning his attention back at his sisters who rushed to hug him.

Well, to be exact Yuzu did, while Karin joined in begrudgingly, not eanting to admit she’d been scared and worried for her brother.

”...This is why I think he should just head directly to practical studies.”

Urahara states simply, glancing at Hachi, who nods with a frown.

”Having even a basic control of kido is essential, and since he seems to be a trouble magnet...”

Ichigo looks up at the two men confused.

”I have been discussing with the higher ups that, given your fast growth-rate and potential, it would be of more use if you could just start training Kido in practice rather than having to study theory.”

Ichigo almost wants to roll his eyes; he’d been saying this for a _long time_ by now, but for some reason everybody had insisted he should still study everything trough like others given his young age. It never made sense to him.

”Why did this hollow attack you, Kurosaki-kun?”

Hachi questions the young man, who bites his lip uncertain.

”I believe this hollow may have been trying to get her hands on the blade Kurosaki san was keeping for me.” Urahara comments suddenly, and Ichigo tenses, examining the man cautiously.

Urahara’s face was unreadable as usual, but the ginger did feel like the man was watching him closely, like he knew something.

”Is that so? Then perhaps you should take that blade back for now.”

”I already did. It seems those hollows still have the wrong information about its location.”

Urahara turns his attention to the still struggling hollow, walking closer with a fan covering his face.

”Why are you after this weapon?”

The hollow just attempts to spit her seeds at the man, but the projectiles just bounced off the kido wall uselessly.

_”As if I’d tell you, you filthy Shinigami!”_

Urahara was not phased by the hollow’s hostility one bit, and just keeps gazing at her behind his fan. He examines the creature for a while, long enough to agitate the being further, as she starts trashing against her spiritual prison.

”The way you and those other hollows have been hiding themselves from us. Is it perhaps a new technique you’ve learned?”

_”I told you! I will not share anything with a Shinigami!”_

”Urahara-san, we need to decide what to do quickly; we cannot just keep standing here trying to interrogate this being.” Hachi warns the hatted man, who nods and turns back towards the hollow.

”I suppose we have to bring her to the contamination center. We need information given all the strange things that have been happening lately.”

_”What? So you’ll seal me away and use me as a test subject? And you call US monsters!”_

Urahara ignores the hollow and nods at Hachi, who performs another kido spell, and moments later, the hollow alongside the kido prison disappeared.

”As for you, Kurosaki-san...”

Ichigo tenses, fully expecting Urahara to call him out for his thievery.

”Why don’t you make something nice and warm for your sisters to drink to calm down from this ordeal? I can also ask someone from medic bay to come and check on you just in case.”

Ichigo remains quiet for a moment, then nods, scrambling off the floor.

”I’ll inform your father about this.”

”Where the heck is that old man anyway?” Karin demands, still upset that their dad had not been around to protect them.

”He was in a meeting alongside several other Shinigami, discussing about the ’invisible’ hollows.”

Ah. That sort of explained why nobody seemed to notice this one. Help came late, because there weren't many people around.

Then again, SOME Shinigami had to be around, as it would be plain stupid to not have anyone watching after people.

Had Hachi-sensei not been informed, Ichigo could have really been in trouble.

”It is rather problematic that these beings are starting to be able to sneak past us like this, hence the meeting.” Urahara comments, holding his chin thoughtfully.

 

”Come on Ichi-nii, let’s go back inside.” Yuzu tugs on his arm, though her voice was shaky.

The ginger nods after a moment, following them inside.

 

 

Few of the medics came by to check on them, but aside from minor bruises and cuts, they all were deemed fine. The second the medics left, Ichigo headed to his room to place the sword back to the box. He honestly wanted to thank the spirit for his aid, but right now Ichigo had to focus on his sisters who were still scared.

Walking back down, the two were curled up together under a blanket in the couch, their third hot chocolate mugs in hand. Ichigo sighs and slumps beside them.

”Are you okay Ichi-nii?” Yuzu asks upon noticing his frown, and the young man manages to smile a bit, telling that he was still just a bit tense over today’s events.

”Don’t blame you; that thing caught us completely off guard.”

Karin huffs, drinking her hot cocoa.

She then looks at Ichigo with a frown, and he knew what she was going to ask.

”I did not have a blade with me. I still cannot use my kido properly without one. That’s why its good they finally are willing to let me train in practice.”

”Yeah, I agree; you could have taken out that thing easily if you had your sword!”

Indeed.

Practice blade or the blue blade, had he had one, he could’ve won easily. This depending on a weapon was highly frustrating, and Ichigo couldn’t _wait_ to get to train in practice, so he could use his full potential.

Once Isshin finally arived home, he nearly glomped his daughters and cried a whole damn waterfall, then commended Ichigo for protecting them and driving the hollow off from the school grounds.

The ginger just nods and smiles, then heads to his room, figuring his sisters would be fine now that dad was home.

Reaching his room, Ichigo sighs and changes his clothing, flinching a bit as the few bruises he had still hurt. He tugs on his pajama robes and slips under the covers.

It was only 9.30 in the evening, but he felt too exhausted to stay up anymore.

Honestly, given all the shit he’d gone trough recently, Ichigo felt like he’d need a good, twelve hour sleep _at least._

He glances aside, down towards the box he knew was under his bed.

”Thank you. I don’t really know why you keep helping me at times, but I appreciate it.”

He mumbles out with a soft smile, before yawning and closing his eyes, falling asleep soon afterwards.

 

 

_Grimmjow watched the kid sleep._

_He honestly had no clue why he helped the brat, either._

_The blunet did not want to think it was because he looked like bloody Kaien, he refused to believe he’d be such a sentimental fucking piece of shit._

_Another thing that nagged in his brain was all these weak fuckers trying to get their hands on him._

_Did they know his soul was trapped in the sword? Somehow he doubted that._

_Even if they did know, what was their motivation in trying to get his zanpakuto?_

_The way these guys were able to disguise themselves... Grimmjow had an idea on how it was done, and if that was the case, it meant someone stronger was controlling them in the shadows. Who the hell was it, and what the fuck did they want from him?_

_Grimmjow was not naive or stupid enough to think these weak fuckers just wanted to bring his blade back to the ’grave’ as hollows did not have the same concept of respect like humans had when it came to the dead._

_Dead were food to most hollows._

_The main reason those bastards had kept away from the palace was fear; they instinctively avoided the place, as it was coated with the aura from the bloody battle from all those years ago._

_So, what reason did they have to try and get his blade?_

_Whatever it was, Grimmjow didn’t like it._

_He’d burned the bitch because he did not want some weakling’s filthy hands all over his blade. Now however, he kind of wished he’d waited long enough to peek in her brain and see what the hell she was up to._

_This whole thing unnerved him, if Grimmjow was honest with himself._

_The ginger makes out a noise in his sleep and catches his attention; he watches as the kid shiftts in his sleep, until he was on his side, one hand under his pillow. He was drooling slightly too, which looked really amusing, given Kaien had done that a lot too - hence Grimmjow never allowed the fucker to nap in his bed._

_He didn’t want Shinigami drool all over his bedsheets._

_The blunet almost smacks himself and fades back onto the sword, berating himself for even going there again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAHH  
> You have NO IDEA how badly I want to get to write about Grimmjow once he's FREED from the damn blade. it's gonna be badass. But I cannot go there yet. Ichi-berry still has to learn some things and also build trust with the blue kitty so he won't scratch the poor berry's eyes out once he's freed from his cage


	11. small steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo's training doesn't go as expected. Also more memories get unlocked  
> and Ukitake finds out Urahara has been a bad kid and looked into stuff he shouldn't have.

 Ichigo’s first lesson with Hachi did not go that well; he was supposed to form a simple, stable ball of kido in his hand and then expand it to a protective bubble around him, but he kept breaking the bubble, or bringing it up malformed, once even almost burning Hachi’s mustache off.

The large man was patient with him, being aware that teaching this young man could prove to be a hassle, given the sheer amount of energy he had.

Hachi only knew three other people in the current generation who had this level of power, and all of them were already full-fledged Shinigamis. The fact there was a student as young as Ichigo, who was already on their level, was rather stunning.

”You must try and calm your mind a bit more, Kurosaki-kun. Your focus is wavering.”

The man scolds him and Ichigo huffs, brushing his hair off his face miffed. He brings his hands up again and focuses, trying to form a small glowing ball between them. Like before, at first it keeps it’s shape, but as soon as he tries to expand it, the ball starts stretching and vibrating, like it was about to blow. Ichigo quickly crushes it between his palms, not wanting his teacher to actually lose his mustache.

”I am trying! My power just refuses to cooperate!”

Ichigo huffs out frustrated and slumps to sit on the ground, mingling trough his hair.

They were on the training grounds, a large open field about five hundred meters away from the towns edge and the school. The vast space was needed so the trainees would not accidentally harm anybody.

Though, Hachi had a feeling that when it came to Ichigo, they’d have to move further back eventually; the amount of energy the boy could put out at once was nothing short of impressive....and dangerous.

”Perhaps you feel so, but your subconscious is disagreeing with you. Are there things that have been...bothering you as of late?” The man asks and sits down in front of Ichigo, offering him an understanding look.

The ginger huffs, unable to stop himself.

”I’ve been getting attacked by random hollows a lot, one of which attacked my sisters, over a thing I didn’t...a thing I don’t _have._ ”

Ichigo managed to keep his voice from wavering as he stated this clear lie, and for now it seemed like Hachi didn’t catch on to it, as the man just nods, figuring that had to put some weight on his young mind.

”Rest assured, Urahara-san and the order will make sure your family will be safe from such attacks from now on.”

”Has that female one told you guys anything about why they are after that mystery blade?”

The man remains quiet for a while, and Ichigo wondered if he was even allowed to talk about it. Finally though, his teacher sighs and shakes his head.

”She refuses to give out anything as promised, but we’ll keep trying. Urahara-san has investigated the blade some more to understand it, but so far, it just seems like a normal weapon left behind by a fallen warrior.”

Ichigo felt a slight twist in his gut; he knew that _wasn’t_ entirely true, and also wondered why hadn’t the man noticed the one he was examining was a fake yet. Surely Hachi would’ve mentioned if Urahara had told him it was a replica. Unless Urahara was secretly trying to find out who took it.

You never knew with that man what he was plotting.

”Kurosaki-kun?”

The man snaps him out of his thoughts and Ichigo rubs his head, smiling sheepishly.

”Sorry. I guess my focus **is** a bit too much all over the place right now.”

The old man examines him quietly for a moment, then nods and gets up.

”Let’s try one more time; try to push the recent events away from your mind and just focus on your own flowing soul energy.”

Ichigo nods as he gets up and brings his hands up again, focusing on the tingling sensation all around his body. It was kind of like this constant tickle in his nerve systems, except it didn’t really make you laugh or anything. His own energy, like everyone else's, was unique; a warm orange glow that sometimes flickered like flames. It was much different from the stable greenish hue that surrounded his teacher, and further showcased just how hard it was for Ichigo to control his own power; auras like his that were constantly moving and dancing were always difficult to get a hold of.

Renji for example had struggled with this back when he’d started due to his restless energy, though not as badly as Ichigo.

The ginger focuses, bringing up the ball again.

He keeps staring at it intently, trying not to think of anything but the tingling sensation within his body. He bites his lip and slowly expands the ball, until it becomes a bubble around him.

”Excellent!”

Hachi claps upon noticing that the bubble was stable this time, and Ichigo gives out a triumphant smirk.

That’s when things go to shit however, as Ichigo loses focus, and the bubble around him starts to warp, before expanding outwards at a rapid speed, forcing Hachi to bring up a large barrier to not get hit with the immense amount of energy heading towards him like a runaway train.

**_”Crap!”_ **

Ichigo attempts to get the expansion back under control and raises his hands up, but the flow was too fast and his whole body was lit and hypersensitive, making him physically tremble and unable to focus his mind properly.

Quickly realizing that his student had lost control of the flow big-time, Hachi brings up even larger barrier to protect the school as well, as one side of the bubble was steadily heading towards it.

_”Ichigo!”_

Hachi shouts at him, and the ginger squeezes his eyes and bites his lip hard enough to draw blood trying to drag the bubble back.

It felt like tugging a raging bull across waist-deep mud; it felt near impossible.

Then, a low, annoyed growl echoes in his head, and suddenly a burst of foreign energy escapes the ginger's body, starting from the ground and slowly turning the orange bubble into a bright blue one, stopping it’s advance like it hit a wall.

Hachi watches in shock and confusion as his student’s aura seems to change shape, turning from his unpredictable but powerful aura into something stabler... but also _sinister_.

A second later, the balloon of power starts to diffuse, heading rapidly back towards the center, up until a massive blast of energy throws Hachi off his feet and shatters the barriers he’d put up thanks to the sheer shockwave the energy-blast caused.

Scrambling off the ground, the man searches for his student concerned, then spots a figure amidst the dust that was flowing in the air.

Ichigo was _floating_ several meters off the ground, his body fuming out pure energy like orange, glowing smoke.

What surprised Hachi the most was that the color had somehow drained from his body, including his hair, making the man think in horror for a second that Ichigo had actually died as a result of the blast.

However, as Ichigo falls to the ground, he remains on his feet, even if he almost stumbles to the ground, panting.

”....Kurosaki-kun?”

Hachi asks cautiously, noting that there was a layer of blue energy beneath the fumes of orange, the same strange power he’d sensed before.

At first, the boy doesn’t respond, still panting harshly like he’d ran a marathon.

Then, he slowly lifts himself upright, cracking his neck with the now white partially covering his face.

His movements were... _strange._

 ** _Different_** from how the boy usually carried himself.

”Ichigo?”

Hachi asks again, his instinct telling him something was wrong.

A wind blows trough the area, the howling sound being the only thing to break the silence.

As some of the strands on Ichigo’s face are moved away, Hachi realizes that the brown eyes were gone, replaced by sharp, almost feline-like blue ones.

A wide, uncharacteristic grin spreads on Ichigo’s face as he stares back at Hachi, before collapsing to the ground with a groan.

The man watches as the blue glow dissipates from around the boy, and his body turns back to its usual color, the hair gaining the fiery orange tone to it again. Hachi waits for another long moment, but the figure doesn’t move, and he could sense Ichigo’s aura had calmed, indicating he was unconscious.

The man sighs and walks to the boy, crouching next to him. Ichigo looked exhausted, cold sweat running down his face, and he was breathing rather shallowly even in his sleep.

”It seems...Urahara might have failed to mention something to me.”

Hachi sighs with slight frustration occupying his mind, and picks up the unconscious boy, heading towards the school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

”Are you absolutely sure about what you saw?”

Urahara questions the man while examining the sleeping figure on the bed from behind his fan.

Hachi had brought Ichigo into one of the resting rooms designated to Shinigami students who got injured while training, as the medical attention they required could sometimes be different from usual schoolyard troubles.

Hachi had asked the nearest student to go and get Urahara-san, who had looked confused but also excited to be given a break from studies.

Urahara had not seem surprised about the story Hachi had told him, if anything he seemed like the man had just confirmed a theory he had.

”I do not like this, Urahara-san. Whatever that energy was, it was not of Ichigo’s own.”

Both men gaze at the sleeping ginger, Hachi with worry and the hat wearing man with a stoic expression. After a moment, Urahara sighs and puts his fan down to the table.

”I think it is for the best to not raise any alarm yet.”

Hachi looks at the man in disbelief, almost an angry frown appearing to his usually kind features.

” _You cannot be serious!_ Whatever that thing was that possessed him, it could be of danger for him and others!”

Urahara tilts his head faintly, so the hat shadows his eyes.

”Maybe so. That is why I wish to leave things untouched for now.”

”But _why?_ ”

Urahara turns to face the confused and worried man, keeping his voice quiet.

”Kurosaki might be the only one who can protect us from this said spirit, given who it likely is.”

Hachi frowns, not liking how the man was again bringing out his secretive side.

Sure, Urahara worked under the intelligence division, but a student was potentially in a life-threatening danger, a student with whose father Kisuke himself was friends with.

”Give me one reason why I should follow your ludicrous advice.”

 

 

”Kaien Shiba.”

 

 

Hachi’s eyes widen, and the mustached man turns to look at Ichigo. He was not sure how the legendary hero and ancestor of Kurosaki fit into this whole picture, but it likely was something big and complex, given how that time period was shrouded in mystery in general. Anything relating to those lost years had to be big.

”I don’t.... understand.”

The man admits truthfully after a moment with a sigh, brushing his mustache before rubbing his temple.

”The spirit that resides within Kurosaki, or at least lingers near him, was friends with Kaien Shiba. I have a reason to believe that Ichigo’s likeness to Kaien is what is making this spirit... protect him so to say.”

An unknown spirit who’d been friends with Kaien Shiba himself?

Who on _earth_ could that be?

How did this spirit relate to all of this, and why was it haunting Ichigo?

”I promise you Hachigen, I’ll explain everything once I can, there are still some pieces of the puzzle I need. For now, just keep training Ichigo like normal, and do not mention what happened to anyone.”

”....What if he loses control like that again?”

Urahara gives him a half-smile.

”I am certain an experienced kido-user like you can handle it.”

 

 

 

 

When Ichigo finally woke up, the large man walks to sit down on the chair next to him, smiling at the boy.

”Finally you’re awake, I was quite concerned.”

”What....the heck...happened?”

Hachi remains quiet, considering on what he should say. Likely Urahara did not want him to tell Ichigo himself about what happened in case he forgot, which seemed to be the case.

”You... managed to stop the expansion, but unfortunately the effort caused you to lose consciousness; luckily you were unharmed by it.”

Ichigo shifts his gaze to the ceiling above, trying to recall the event trough his muddled thoughts. There wasn’t much he could recall, other than losing control of his power, then... Something was nagging at the back of his head, but he just couldn’t grasp what it was.

With a defeated sigh, he looks up at Hachi and asks if anyone was harmed.

As the man shakes his head, Ichigo lets out a relieved breath, before rubbing his yes.

Shit his head hurt.

”I think this is enough for today. You should go home and rest.”

”Oh **yay** , more time spent wasted sitting on a bed.”

Ichigo mutters sarcastically, getting tired of being constantly bedridden.

Hachi lets out a sligt chuckle, honestly understanding the young man’s frustration. As he watched Ichigo to gather his things and slowly start making his way home after the nurse checked him over to make sure he was fit to go, Hachi could not stop but feel uneasy.

That spirit with the blue aura. He was certain that aura did not belong to a spirit of a human.

It felt like one of a hollow. 

 

 

 

Yuzu and Karin were both surprised to see her brother come home early, but Ichigo just grumbles at them and heads upstairs, frustrated about today’s lesson.

He’d been _so_ excited to get to start and practice on his energy finally, but if course he had to fuck it up.

Irritated, he slumps to the bed and buries his face to the pillow with an angry huff.

Moments later, Yuzu appeared to his room, asking if he was okay from the doorway. Peeking at her, Ichigo could tell the girl was uncertain if she’d be allowed to enter right now. Ichigo sighs and shakes his head, indicating he didn’t want to talk right now.

”...Okay. Karin and I are downstairs in case you need something... we’ll make dinner once dad comes home.”

With that, she closes the door behind her, and Ichigo slumps his head back against the pillow, wallowing in self-pity for a moment.

 

 

_Fucking hell, kid. I was aware yer control was shit, but that was ridiculous._

 

 

Ichigo had to bite his tongue to not spat out loud at the man that he didn’t need the bastard to mock him on top of everything. However, as the ginger lifts his gaze and spots the spirit sitting backwards on his chair, he notices the man looked strangely exhausted.

He could barely keep his eyes open, and his muscles seemed strained.

That shit-eating grin was still in its place, but even that wasn’t as wide as usual.

”The fuck happened to you?”

Ichigo blurts out quietly, so that only Grimmjow could hear him. The man lifts eyebrow at his cursing - something Ichigo had not done that much around him - before snorting, his expression shifting into something more irritated.

 

_"That’s the thanks I get fer saving yer sorry school n’ teacher?"_

 

Ichigo frowns, then his eyes widen a bit as he realizes the implications behind those words.

 

_"Yeah, ya heard me; that fucking bubble of yers coulda have wiped out yer school had I not forced it back into your body. Even yer fucking spiritual pressure is uncooperative as fuck when somebody’s tryin’ ta help yer sorry ass."_

 

Ichigo remains quiet, not knowing what to say.

The knowledge he’d almost destroyed their school and hurt countless of people... he’d always known his energy was strong and volatile, but only now it truly hit home just why it was crucial that he’d learn to control it. Then, another thought hit him, and he looks at Grimmjow with widened eyes.

”Did...when you did that, did Hachi-san...”

Grimmjow remains quiet, considering what to say; he’d heard the whole fucking conversation, and knew that the weird hat and fan wearing guy knew of his presence, and seemed to even know who he was. Kurosaki’s teacher knew too now, at least the fact a spirit was lingering around the ginger. He did not like the fact another being - another Shinigami at that - knew about him, but so far the person did not seem to be planning on changing the current situation yet.

For whatever reason, the hat wearing bastard wanted to lay low and let Kurosaki keep the blade for now.

 

_”Nah. I doubt he realized a thing in that chaos.”_

 

Grimmjow lies to the kid, figuring that there was no point in telling him. Likely the hat guy would tell the kid himself eventually.

 

 

 

That night, Ichigo was dreaming.

At least, it felt like it.

He was back in that space with the ribbons, except he was no longer seemingly walking on something, but he was floating. Ichigo tried to move, but he couldn’t really control his body, and just sort of flew past all the silky ribbons around him, as if something was pulling him somewhere. He soon realized where he was heading; it was the familiar blue glow, with the chains around it. Ichigo felt himself panic, remembering what happened last time.

However, his struggle was to no avail, as he was thrown at it, entering into the blue glow until everything around him was so blindingly bright with the color that he had to cover his eyes. Once Ichigo opened them again, he was standing in the middle of a desert.

It was not too surprising, given whose mind he’d apparently entered, but this was different.

Glancing down at him, the ginger realized he was in fact wearing Grimmjow’s attire, and he was taller too.

A voice called out towards him, and Ichigo felt his body turn towards it, spotting a familiar, black haired figure heading towards him.

There was a flash of emotion in his mind that the ginger knew wasn’t his; a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

 

 

 

_Why was this Shinigami so stubborn on following him?_

 

Ichigo abruptly realized what was going on, once the figure reaches him and greets him with a bright smile, looking directly at him.

 

_”Grimmjow. You’re certainly quick on your feet.”_

 

 

He was... this was a memory, except this time he was seeing it from first person view, directly trough Grimmjow’s eyes.

It was... weird, yet the same time made more sense than the third-person view from before.

 

_”The fuck ya want, Shinigami?”_

 

A familiar, yet foreign voice leaves his mouth, and Ichigo noted Grimmjow sounded even deeper now, which kind of made sense; one’s voice always sounded different to themselves than how it sounded to others. Kaien gazes at him for a second, then laughs a bit, making Ichigo/Grimmjow want to smack his dumb face down to the sand.

 

_The only reason he didn’t do so was the fact it would not do any good._

_This fucker would follow him around no matter what, he’d proved how stubborn he was already._

 

_”Well, given I am not one for listening to rather exhausting negotiations, I became curious about the surroundings, and saw you wander off again.”_

_Grimmjow turns his back to the shinigami with a snort._

_”Nobody said ya were allowed ta join me.”_

_”Nobody said I wasn’t.”_

_Grimmjow hated the fact that retort almost made him smirk. He refuses to respond and just continues walking, hands in his pockets._

_The shinigami follows him, clearly either oblivious or uncaring about the potential danger he was in; the fucker was conversing with one of the Kings of the Hueco Mundo, the most powerful beings of this goddamn desert world who could wrung his neck with a snap of a finger if he wanted to._

_Yet, the bastard kept chatting at him like they were old friends._

_He’d done that from the start, and Grimmjow had no fucking clue why had this coal-haired shithead gotten so attached to him. He could have almost thought it was some stupid crush, had he not known the shinigami had a fiancee already._

_Oh yeah, he’d proceeded to mention that too during one of his talking-sprees, like Grimmjow gave a shit about that useless fact._

_”It’s quite a peculiar place, this world of yours; so much spiritual energy, yet so little life.”_

_The man snorts, telling the damn shinigami he could go and take a hike if he didn’t like it._

_For some reason his snarky remarks never seemed to piss the bastard off or discourage it, he just chuckled a bit at that._

_”It’s just different. Kind of lonely I’d say.”_

_The black haired man takes a moment to just gaze around the endless sandy landscape, an unreadable look on his face. He was so distracted right now Grimmjow could easily just whack his head against the nearest rock and bust his skull open._

_He didn’t do anything, just kept walking._

_”Do you ever get lonely?”_

_The question was so mind-numbingly stupid that Grimmjow had to stop and turn to glare at him._

_”For **fuck’s sake** Shinigami! I ain’t a human, I don’t got same kinda needs like yer weak fleshy ass.”_

_Kaien remains quiet, examining his furious expression for a moment._

_The infuriating smile appears once again after a while, and Grimmjow really had to focus to not lunge at him._

_”I suppose you are not wrong with that.”_

 

 

 

 

The wind picked up all of a sudden, and Ichigo felt himself detach from the memory, floating around in a mental sandstorm, up until his vision began to clear again.

This time he seemed to be on a medical bay of sorts, with Kaien bandaged and resting on a bed of sorts, while a masked female nurse checked on his injuries alongside another Shinigami. He was sitting nearby, leaning his arm against his knee, like how Grimmjow would often sit.

 

_Kaien’s eyes open, and he turns his head to look towards him. It was clear he was quite disoriented, as his eyes didn’t focus for a moment._

_Once they did however, he smiled._

_”What did I miss?”_

 

Ichigo hears himself snort.

 

_”Other than getting yer sorry ass handed to yourself? Nothing.”_

_Kaien laughs at that, then coughs a bit, and the female Shinigami tells him to settle down and not move around too much._

_”Right, right, sorry, Lisa.”_

_The woman frowns at him and pulls his ear, telling the man that if he kept this up, his fiancée would eventually have to find a new future husband._

_It was all just noise in his head really; Grimmjow didn’t care about their little bickering match. He was tired to hell after having to kick the menos’ ass and then drag the sorry excuse of a shinigami back to the palace so he could get the stupid fucker healed._

_After the irritating woman and the confused nurse of their leaves, Kaien pushes himself up carefully, and turns to look at him with that same, stupid smile._

_”Thanks. You really saved me back there.”_

_Grimmjow lets out another snort, slipping to his feet and walking beside the shinigami, poking him painfully in the forehead, leaving a red mark that the bastard rubbed with a pouty look on his face._

_”I shoulda have let that menos eat yer sorry ass. I told ya not ta go in that cave.”_

_”It sounded like someone was in trouble!”_

_The shinigami protests, making Grimmjow release a long suffering sigh as he rubs his eyes annoyed._

_**This fucking guy.** _

_”It’s a typical fucking tactic; they gain your attention by pretending to need help. Those fuckers use it already in human realm, so how the **fuck** did you miss it?!”_

_Kaien just shrugs, turning his gaze aside, still pouting like a damn brat._

_”Why would smaller hollows even bother trying to lure somebody into a place that has a giant monster in it?”_

_”Those dumb fucks likely didn’t know there was a menos in there; while they are gigantic, those fuckers can hide their presence in the dark pretty well.”_

_Kaien hums, clearly now contemplating on the new information he reserved._

_His endless curiosity was kind of weird, as most Shinigami preferred not to learn about these small details about Hueco Mundo and its inhabitants. Most just cared about how to infuse their weapons with soul power so they could fight against the fodder that leaped into human realm to feast on the souls there._

_The shinigami had no reason to really learn about the creatures that would never show up into their world anyway._

_”Still though; thank you.”_

_That damn smile again._

_Grimmjow grunts and pokes his forehead painfully again, telling the stupid fucker to rest and not walk around so that his wounds would open and spill his guts out._

_”I ain’t cleaning that.”_

_He remarks over his shoulder, before leaving the room._

 

 

Again, Ichigo feels himself detach, but this time it’s different.

Instead of a sandstorm, everything suddenly turns dark, and dread fills his mind.

 

 

 

_He was running._

_There was dread in his mind, as he hurried across the eerily quiet corridor._

_Soon, he finds what he’d been looking for, what he’d feared he’d find._

_Three corpses, covered in blood, one of them missing his lower body._

_There was a wave of immense guilt, anger, and hatred that filled his mind, and an inhuman snarls escapes his mouth, loud enough to echo in the stone walls around him. His power flared, destroying the doorway behind him completely._

_Whoever did this.... They were gonna **pay.**_

 

 

 

Ichigo was violently jolted awake, and he panted harshly, clutching his head as the images of those three corpses kept reappearing into his head over and over. It was such a macabre sight, the kind that could traumatize almost anyone.

Whatever had happened there, it had been a serious battle.

Eventually, he manages to stop his shaking mostly, but the ginger notices his vision was blurry now.

Moments later, he realized there were tears in his eyes. The dream had felt so real. In the back of his mind, Ichigo feared it had been _real_.

It had seemed like another memory, memory from Grimmjow that he’d somehow unlocked.

 

He takes in several, deep gulps of air, hugging himself as he tried to calm down and make the crying stop. It wasn’t his sadness that he was feeling right now. The shock was definitely his own though; Ichigo had _never_ seen such a brutal scene.

So much blood, and one of the bodies...it was like their legs had simply been burned off, leaving behind a bloodied stump.

Another one had had their face smashed in, mask shattered completely.

Ichigo lets out a silent whimper and hides his face, curling up and trying to get the images off his head.

His breathing was panicked, and his fingers sank deep into his hair, tugging on it almost painfully. Suddenly, strong hands grasp his and pry the trembling fingers off the orange locks. Ichigo struggles against the hold, but the grip on him was too strong, and mercilessly forces his hands down, before moving up to grab his arms just below his shoulders, giving the boy a light shake.

 

**_”Calm the fuck down.”_ **

 

Ichigo’s eyes shot open, and he was confronted with blue, peering at him trough the darkness.

It was Grimmjow.

He was sitting on his bed again with a deep, irritated frown on his face. The ginger just stares at him, his brown eyes wide and blurred, as the tears hadn’t stopped yet. For a moment they just stare at each other in the darkness, up until Grimmjow sighs and closes his eyes, letting go of Ichigo to rub his temple.

”....That....I...”

Ichigo’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

He had no clue what to say right now, or if he should say anything.

 

_”Fucking hell. You gotta get that shit under control kid; you can’t just go and peek into my memories like that; be glad ya didn't almost get binded again.”_

 

Grimmjow did not sound angry, surprisingly; just exhausted.

Ichigo opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

He was at a loss of words, so the ginger just proceeds to wipe his face to get rid of the tear-tracks on his cheeks.

For a moment, neither of the, spoke.

 

_”Those three, they were my Fraccion.”_

 

Grimmjow admits quietly, not looking at Ichigo.

”Fraccion?”

The blunet almost wants to snort, but refrains from it; _of course_ the kid wouldn’t know what that word meant.

 

_”My subordinates. Most of us had our own servants or so. I had five.”_

 

Five? But Ichigo had seen only four bodies...

 

_”I found Shawlong n’ Nakeem first.”_

 

Grimmjow answers his unsaid question without lifting his gaze.

Ichigo just nods, swallowing down nervously.

The aura the man was emitting... it was not really hostile per say, but the ginger felt that one wrong word right now could send the man into a rage-fueled rampage.

”....Was that...him?”

The blue eyes snap at him and Ichigo freezes, but the man just stares at him blankly. Finally, he snorts, turning his gaze aside.

 

_”No, they just randomly went and exploded into pieces. **Of course it was him!”**_

 

Grimmjow snarls at him, but it lacked the usual bite from it.

It felt like Grimmjow was reluctant to really get mad at him right now.

Whenever it was because of the traumatizing memory Ichigo had just witnessed, or if he was still tired from having to stop the ginger from destroying the school earlier that day, Ichigo had no clue. It probably didn’t matter either way.

 

_”I mean it kid; get a grip on your damn spiritual pressure or this’ll keep happening, and next time ya might not be so fucking lucky to not have those chains try n' drag you into hell again.”_

 

Grimmjow tells him bluntly all of a sudden, glaring at the ginger.

Ichigo frowns, not really knowing how his inability to control his power and this strange ability to peek into Grimmjow’s head were connected.

Figuring the man was not up for questions right now however, Ichigo just informs the spirit that he was trying, it just wasn’t easy.

 

_”Ya clearly ain’t trying hard enough.”_

 

Grimmjow snorts at him, before shifting to slip off the bed.

He pauses however and turns to look back at Ichigo for a moment with an unreadable gaze.

Suddenly, he reaches out and Ichigo freezes as fingers mingle into his hair, while the man presses his thumb against his forehead. His mind began to feel drowsy, and the ginger felt his anxiety and foreign sadness slowly bleed away, until his mind was completely numb.

 

_”Go back to sleep, kid.”_

 

The man half-orders him, and Ichigo slumps back down to his pillow a second later, his eyes closing almost involuntarily.

He did not have any more dreams that night.

 

 

 

 

 

Urahara walked across the corridor with a bag over his shoulder, determined in his steps that echoes across the empty hallway; the underground facilities under their HQ were quire remarkable to say the least.

He soon reached the door and opened it, joining in with those who were waiting for him.

Yoruichi was there, alongside her second-in-command Soi-Fong, and Ukitake.

They had considered on asking Mayuri to handle the hollow, but the result was more likely to be him dissecting the being rather than them getting answers.

”For someone as weak as this thing is, she’s holding up pretty well.”

Yoruichi comments, nodding at the kido prison the female hollow was being held. She looked pretyt beat up and burned, having been trashing around the energy walls in an attempt to escape.

”I do not see why we need to question this thing. Its clearly not going to give us answers.”

Soi-Fong comments with a frown on her face, crossing her arms.

Urahara just reminds her that this was the first time in a while they managed to capture one alive, and the mystery of the invisible hollows had to be solved or more innocents would be in danger. The woman frowns, clearly annoyed by his slightly patronizing attitude, but says nothing, knowing that the man was right as much as she hated admitting it.

”While I do not enjoy having to keep something - even a hollow - locked up in an unpleasant manner like this instead of letting her out of her misery, I must agree with Urahara-san that we need information.”

Ukitake comments with a sigh, turning his gaze at the panting figure behind the kido wall.

”This would be a lot easier for you if you’d cooperate.” Yoruichi tells the hollow, knocking at the kido wall.

The creature just snarls at her, tentacles wailing about as she tries to pierce the wall between Yoruichi and the hollow, only proceeding in injuring them further.

 

_”I will never reveal anything to you! You fools have no idea what is waiting for you in the future. The Shinigami will be done for, and we’ll feast on the souls of you pathetic humans!”_

Her threat did not seem to bother anyone in the room, much to the hollow’s dismay.

”I have a theory regarding to the blade you came to look for.”

Urahara’s comment gains everyone’s attention, and he walks beside Yoruichi, fan covering half of his face as usual.

”It used to belong to someone highly powerful and important in your dimension.”

The hollow remains quiet, just peering down at him with a hostile look.

”You hollows do not hold death in the same regard like us humans; you are more likely to feast on your fallen than respect their memory.”

_”What’s the point wailing over a perished weakling?”_

The hollow huffs, but she was now staring at Urahara intently, indicating he was on the right track.

”I doubt you’d go to this length just to get back a weapon that belonged to a ’weakling’ as you put it. No, there is something in that blade that you, or whoever you work for, wants.”

The hollow sneers at him, but still refuses to speak.

Her mask was cracking however - metaphorically speaking - and Urahara could see the way the hollow’s tentacles wiggled nervously.

The man couldn’t stop but smirk behind his fan, but he kept his visage otherwise neutral.

”Say Urahara: what is this _blade_ you have been speaking about?”

Ukitake asks suddenly, and the man glances at his superior, having near forgotten Ukitake had requested to join them.

Only Yoruichi and Soi-fong were aware of the blade he supposedly had stored in his house, behind several protective seals and barriers.

Only Yoruichi knew where it _actually_ was.

”There was a weapon that Kurosaki and his team recovered during their mission to Hueco Mundo a while ago; it was the reason why the kid got attacked. This thing thought he still had it.”

Yoruichi explains, not mentioning that Ichigo still in fact had the blade. The man frowns, then nods slightly, crossing his arms.

”Is this likely the mysterious blade Kurosaki-kun mentioned in his report about the mission?”

Urahara just nods, turning his attention back to the hollow. She was getting really antsy right now, wiggling around restlessly, her eyes darting all around the room, a sign they were indeed talking about what she’d come here for.

”Tell me, this person the blade belonged to...was it perhaps one of your Kings?”

Soi-Fong lets out a confused noise, whereas Ukitake’s expression shifts from the earlier frown to shock, then back into a deeper frown.

 _”Kisuke...”_ His tone was questioning, warning even perhaps, but the man holds his hand up, requesting his superior to stay quiet for now.

The hollow just stares down at him for a moment, then lets out a loud shriek and charges her whole body against the wall, gnarling and screaming viciously as she tried to break free.

 

_”That’s right you mortal fools! It is not just some puny metallic stick you Shinigami swing around! A King’s blade holds power even after the wielder has perished, and once my leader gets his hands on it, you’ll all be wiped out!”_

 

The hollow realized too late that she’d said too much and turns quiet abruptly, while the group frowns and looks at Urahara who turns to face them.

”If that is true...that blade should be destroyed immediately!”

Soi-Fong declares, but Urahara shakes his head, much to her dismay.

The man walks towards the bag that he'd put at one corner, and digs trough it, carefully pulling out a long object, wrapped in cloth.

He brings it up so everybody could see it; a blue hilted sword.

”Is this the blade perhaps?”

Soi-Fong takes a step back unnerved, frustrated that the man would bring such a dangerous thing amongst them so casually. The hollow looks at it eagerly, her tentacles reaching for the blade only to be stopped by the kido wall again much to her frustration.

”It’s a finely made weapon, I give you that.”

Urahara comments calmly, examining it in his hand. The hollow screams at him, telling how it was an utter disgrace for a Shinigami to be fondling the King’s sword, but then her voice suddenly dies down, and she just stares at it.

_”No... **No no no no! What have you done with it you mortal imbecile?!”**_

She snarls, banging herself against the wall once again, this time so fiercely that her mask chipped and cracked further, causing the hollow even more agony.

”Nothing. This is how it was from the beginning; a fine blade, but there is no substance in it.”

”What do you mean?” Soi-Fong demands from the man, tired of his theatrics.

Urahara turns to look at her with a stoic face, placing the tip of the weapon against the ground like a cane, leaning against it.

”This is _nothing_ but a sword. There is no spiritual power in it.”

Her eyes widen, and she frowns, questioning why would these hollows be so adamant in getting their hands on it then.

”I believe, there may have been misinformation amongst their ranks.”

Urahara comments with a slight chuckle, glancing at the furious, bleeding figure floating above him in the glowing prison.

”Perhaps this blade held power once, but now it is just an empty husk.”

The female hollow glares down at him with utter fury, then lets out an ear piercing, furious and desperate scream, a sound so loud and vicious that they all had to cover their ears. Anything made of glass in the room began to shatter, and even the walls shook a little, dropping some dust from the floor.

The hollow began banging herself against the wall over and over in her blind rage, up until her mask suddenly cracked and shattered completely, cutting the ear-deafening noise as she fell silent, turning into dust.

 

 

For a moment, the group just stares at the spot their prisoner had been.

 

 

 

”Well... that was unexpected.”

Yoruichi comments and then proceeds to get rid of the now unneeded kido prison.

Urahara just hums, glancing at the sword he was holding.

As he was putting the blade down back to the bag, Ukitake appeared beside him with a stern frown on his face. The sand blond haired man had known this reaction would be expected once he revealed his knowledge regarding to the sacred files that only Shinigami heads were supposed to know about.

”You do realize that your research on this breaks the rules of the Order?”

Ukitake tells him quietly, and the man nods, closing the lid and sealing the box again before standing up to face the silver haired male.

”Have you ever wondered _why_ those things were kept secret?”

”People would lose trust in the Shinigami if they knew where our abilities originate from.”

Urahara hums with a slight amused smile; a textbook answer, but it was _incorrect_ as he’d deduced from the writings he’d red and decoded.

”Tell me the truth Kisuke; is that blade really harmless?”

Ukitake demands from him quietly, clearly concerned for the citizens he was to protect. Urahara felt a bit bad for lying to Juushirou, but he had to do so right now; there were bigger things at play right now than just a singular, potential threat from a group of hollows.

”Yes. If there had been something in it, you would have sensed it for certain.”

Ukitake examines him for a long moment, then sighs with a nod. Urahara had a point.

As the man leaves him to it, Urahara glances at the box, amused smirk dancing on his face. Kurosaki had done good job with his replica, but he’d forgotten a rather obvious, key detail; there was no faint panther-carving on this blade.

Urahara had noticed it the second he’d inspected the blade again. It had been impressive honestly, how Ichigo had been able to snatch it.

Yoruichi had given him some detail on how the boy had found his way to the secret lab, though she had no clue how he’d diffused the traps, given she had not gone down there for obvious reasons.

”Are you sure you don’t want to tell Ukitake about this?”

Yoruichi asks quietly as she walks to him, glancing at their boss.

”He’d likely go with Soi-Fong’s idea, which I think is understandable, but unnecessary.”

Yoruichi just nods after a moment; given what Kisuke had told her, she could see why the man was adamant in keeping their superiors in the dark for now.

Still, it was a lot of faith put on one young man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy  
> Now that I finished FF, I could finally turn my focus back to this story. I'm still trying to map out a little on how to pace this thing as there's big things planned ahead, but I don't know how quickly I should move to them.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Sorry for any typos or such, I'm still kinda feverish ^^;


	12. vicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grimmjow loses control  
> and in turn  
> so does Ichigo

The next couple of training lessons with Hachi went without an incident.

Ichigo still struggled with his energy, but at least did not cause an immediate danger this time. No foreign energy seeped into his aura either for as far as Hachi was concerned, which was likely a good thing, although the man was still worried for the boy.

”Have you been summoned for any missions lately?” He chats with his student during one of their breaks, and Ichigo shakes his head.

”Aside from dispatching random hollows attacking me lately, not really.”

The man hums, holding his chin lightly.

”I suppose they’d like to clear up the situation around you first before sending you out there again. After all, you are still a student, even if remarkably skilled.”

Ichigo makes a face, not liking to be reminded of his student status. He understood his superior’s concerns, but sometimes he felt like he was being treated like a child when he was already almost twenty.

 

_Yer a fucking kid, kid. Don’t fool yourself._

 

 

Ichigo refrains from snorting out loud upon hearing that comment within his mind.

Lately, Grimmjow had began to linger around him more, especially during these training matches. He seemed to be hiding his presence from Hachi-san however as the man never gave any indication that he sensed the extra presence near them. Ichigo couldn’t stop but wonder if the blunet was secretly keeping his power in a choke-hold or something just in case, so that he would not have another burst like before.

The thought was bizarre to say the least, as the ginger could not really see why the man would bother.

Sure, Ichigo was the only semblance of company the man had after so many years of solitude, but he still mostly preferred to be by himself, only occasionally remarking something at the young man, not bothering to reply to any retorts the ginger gave him.

He had clearly not been up for a conversation that much lately, given how he'd stopped sharing tidbits about his past, but the same time, Grimmjow still seemed to prefer lingering near the ginger instead of sulking inside the sword.

 

_Ya gonna sit there the whole day? Yer lazy ass will never get better at handling yer power at this rate._

 

 

Ichigo rolls his eyes now, gaining a confused look from his teacher.

The young man laughs sheepishly, mumbling something about a silly comment from Keigo that he recalled, before putting away his lunchbox and getting up, informing his mentor he was ready to continue the lesson. Hachi just nods and gets up slowly as well.

”Once you’ll be able to master the control of your spiritual energy, we can move onto practicing different types of attacks you can use against hollows.”

Ichigo just nods, not needing to be reminded about this; he could not start throwing energy balls around like Rukia and Renji could, not until he was hundred percent certain his attack would not hurl off course and injure an ally instead, or just be an useless blip of light that barely did any damage.

As he brings his hands up again and focuses, forming the glowing ball, Ichigo could not stop but have part of his mind drift back and wonder about the dark energy attack he’d seen Grimmjow and that giant hollow use in that one memory - what was it called again?

A cero?

It had been such a powerful, devastating attack formed purely from spiritual pressure.

Why had it felt so... _heavy?_

Ichigo could not recall ever sensing spiritual aura so dense before; not even Kenpachi’s insane pressure had felt like that.

Was it because hollow energy was different from humans?

Or did it depend on intention?

After all, Inoue’s spiritual aura for example, was always really calm and soothing, which was likely because she was a healer.

Grimmjow had _definitely_ come off bloodthirsty back then...

Ichigo frowns as the ball in his hand solidifies into a dense mass of energy; being able to create an energy burst that massive required an insane amount of focus, yet Grimmjow had seemed to be able to pull it off like it was breathing.

As the energy ball in his hand stops spazzing out, Ichigo slowly expands it around himself, face in a deep frown still.

Perhaps...these spiritual-pressure techniques based on those Ceros Grimmjow’s kind could do?

Those things were also concentrated spiritual energy, right?

It made the whole thought of a single Shinigami being able to wipe them all out so easily all the more unfathomable.

If the Shinigami had been only just learning to use powers that were _natural_ to the Hollows, how on earth had Aizen been able to wipe their royalty out like that?

A flashing image about the bloodied corpses from his dream-slash-memory pop in Ichigo’s head, and he shudders, losing his focus and popping the bubble around him accidentally. The ginger curses under his breath, irritated about his constant failures with this. 

 

However, as he looks up at Hachi, Ichigo notes the man seemed fairly impressed.

”That’s the longest you’ve been able to hold it, good job Kurosaki-kun.”

The man claps with an approving smile, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but feel a little triumphant, even if he had _no bloody clue_ just how he’d apparently done it.

”I suppose focusing really is the key.” The ginger says with a shrug, although he was fairly certain he had not been focusing at all, just pondering on the things he’d been shown by the spirit.

Ichigo still had a lot of questions, given a lot of the information he had so far was...conflicting to say the least. It was just that lately Grimmjow had not wanted to talk to him that much, aside from occasional sarcastic remarks or mocking comments. It was frustrating, but Ichigo tried to be patient; the man had no reason to share anything with him, and given Ichigo was a shinigami, one of those who'd wronged him in the past, it was understandable Grimmjow could be a little nasty towards him. 

”We should end for today; I have a school-board meeting to attend after all.”

Ichigo nods and thanks Hachi for the lesson, picking up his stuff and heading back towards his house. Soon enough, he could feel a lingering presence follow him. It was still a little weird, how nobody else seemed to be able to sense Grimmjow majority of the time; he could understand someone as dense as his dad or Renji to not have a clue, but Hachi-san was as adapt in spiritual techniques as Inoue.

Heck, Inoue was _his_ star-student.

Having the man not sense Grimmjow was odd.

 

 

 

_It ain’t focus, kid. It’s instinct. Ya stopped thinking 'bout it too much, that's why it worked for a bit._

 

 

Ichigo pauses, looking behind him reflexively even though he knew Grimmjow rarely showed himself physically outside the ginger’s room.

As usual, his eyes could pick up nothing on the empty road, but he could sense something was standing near him.

He makes a questioning sound, before continuing to walk. It was hard to say if the man would elaborate on his comments or not, so Ichigo saw no point in standing there and waiting for a reply. If somebody spotted him staring into thin air, they’d just get freaked out or worried, depending on who the bystander was.

 

 

_Usin’ our spiritual-energy is like second nature ta hollows. Like breathing. We’re made from the stuff so it shoulda not be a surprise._

 

 

Ichigo remains quiet, but he processes that bit of info in his head like every other tidbit he’d received so far.

Sure, he had known about hollows being made of densely concentrated spiritual energy - which made one question if they should be classified as spirits rather than demons - but he had never thought about the implication it would have.

Namely because he’d never seen a hollow use spiritual pressure in a similar manner to a Shinigami.

However, now that he _had_ trough Grimmjow's memory, it only made perfect sense for Grimmjow to do it so easily.

A sudden, low chuckle echoes in his head and Ichigo pauses in his step briefly, before continuing with slight confused thought sent at the spirit.

 

 

_It’s pretty fuckin’ rich how curious you are ’bout me. It’s like ya keep forgetting a certain important detail._

 

 

”And what is that?”

Ichigo cannot help himself from voicing it out loud as he turns to the road leading towards his house, entering the part that had more bushes and trees around it. Suddenly, a powerful force yanks him against a tree, and Ichigo grasps the spirit’s arm, currently holding him against the hard surface by his throat.

The blue eyes were burning into him now, and next words came out as a snarl.

 

_”I could kill ya with a flick of my wrist, kid. I have a fucking REASON to do it, too.”_

 

Ichigo was a lot less afraid now than last time he’d been in this position, but he still felt a chill travel down his spine upon hearing those words.

Where did this come from all of a sudden?

He lifts his hands to grasp the spirit’s arm, but before he could, Grimmjow let’s go of him and drops the ginger to the ground, making him cough and rub his neck.

As Ichigo looks up, the spirit was nowhere to be seen, even his presence was gone. For a moment he just sits there, gazing at the ground while rubbing his neck with a confused frown.

Why had the man suddenly turned hostile towards him again?

Sure, Grimmjow was mostly bit of a jerk when interacting with him, but it was rarely outright _hostile_ like this.

The _only_ times he usually got violent was during an emotional outburst of sorts, something that clearly _hadn’t_ happened now.

 

 

”Ichigo?”

The ginger looks up startled, finding Inoue standing there and looking down at him confused.

She was holding a basket of herbs, likely going to deliver them to the medical center per Unohana-san’s request.

”Did you trip and fall down? Are you okay?”

She asks now a little confused, and Ichigo shakes his head with a sheepish laugh, pushing himself up and still rubbing his neck. Bad idea, as her eyes train on the slight bruising on his skin, and Orihime’s expression shifts into a concerned frown. Without thinking, she reaches her hand out to brush the spot with her fingers, but then quickly retracts her hand with a blush as she realizes what she was doing.

”S-sorry! I just...you have a mark there...”

Ichigo curses inwardly upon not realizing that Grimmjow’s grip could’ve left a mark, and hurries to explain it was likely a result from his training today with Hachi-san. The girl looks at him with that same frown, and Ichigo could tell she wasn’t buying it.

”....Was it that... that spirit?”

She asks hesitantly after a moment, brushing her hair and looking around nervously, as if expecting the terrifying man suddenly appear behind her or something. She’d been worried about it ever since she’d first seen the spirit, but had kept her promise to Urahara-san to not tell anyone about it.

Ichigo had seemingly been fine too, but...

”Inoue, really, I’m fine.”

Firm hands grasp her shoulders, making the girl look up at him flustered.

Ichigo flashes her a wide smile, telling her not to worry with as much conviction in his voice as he could.

”He’s rarely this cranky. I’m guessing he’s just having a bad day.”

”So he... he _did_ do that?”

Ichigo wants to slap himself; _of course_ admitting that yes, Grimmjow did cause that bruise on his neck, would just make her worry even more.

Ichigo lets go of her shoulders and brushes trough his hair with a sigh.

”Look, I can handle this. If I didn’t, I would not have bothered getting his zanpakuto back.”

Inoue’s eyes widen in confusion, and Ichigo realizes that the girl likely did not know about Urahara taking the blue blade and later Ichigo stealing it back from him. Before he could say anything however, a voice calls out to them, and a figure hurries towards the two, before stumbling to the ground, scattering the herbs he’d been carrying all around himself.

”Oww...”

”Hanataro-kun! Are you..okay?”

Inoue asks and walks to the man, who manages to push himself, up, only to stumble back on his butt and realize the herb basket was now stuck in his head.

Ichigo watches awkwardly as Inoue proceeds to help the fumbling young man to gather his bearings again.

”Inoue-san! We are late, Unohana-sama will be really mad if we show up late, she needs those herbs!”

While Hanataro’s fear about their superior’s anger was likely unfounded, the creepily calm woman was really terrifying, and nobody wanted to make her wait.

The two quickly gather what herbs they could back into the young man’s basket, and Inoue gives him one last glance, before hurrying away with her companion. It was clear this discussion was not over.

With a sigh, Ichigo rubs his neck once again and turns, heading home.

 

 

 

 

_He was feeling antsy and easily irritated right now for some reason._

_Sure, he was like that majority of the time nowadays, but he had no fucking clue just why he’d gone and said that shit to the kid._

_What he'd said was true, granted, but Kurosaki had not done anything this time to warrant the harsh reaction._

_The blunet paces around, his entire body itching unpleasantly._

_It was the kind of itch he was all too familiar with, but in his current situation it was more torturous than enjoyable._

_Lust for blood, unbearable need to rip something to pieces._

_He’d had moments like this several times for the past centuries trapped in the damn blade, but this was probably worse than anything ever before._

_Perhaps it was worse, because he had means to get out now, at least temporarily. He could get out trough Kurosaki, possess him if he so willed._

_It no longer felt so hopeless, and his more animalistic brain was keenly aware of this fact._

_With a frustrated growl, he fires a cero to destroy one of the walls of his mental prison, knowing the damn thing would just reform after a while._

_It wasn’t good enough, the damage wasn’t permanent, and he’d been destroying these walls over and over, so many times it no longer quenched his thirst, just left him feeling slighted and hyperactive._

_Like right now._

_Grimmjow stops his pacing and slides to sit against a wall, mingling his fingers deep into his blue hair, holding so tightly that it almost felt like he’d tear some strands off his scalp._

_He wanted out._

_He **needed** to get out, now, or he’d go crazy, crazier than he already was. _

**_He wanted out._ **

 

 

_The blunet realized **too late** that his vision was turning red, as immense blood thirst seeped into his being; he was no longer able to hold it back. _

_He was lapsing again._

_Shit, this was BAD._

_It had been a while since, and normally he’d just been bitterly amused or even glad of what would happen next, because it would mean a moment of blackout, away from this bullshit he was trapped in._

_Now however, he could actually cause a mess, and as much as he hated admitting it, he ..... didn’t really want to get the kid in trouble._

_Clutching his head, Grimmjow tries to force it back, but he knew too damn well he'd already broken the seal and there was no going back anymore. Fuck, why hadn't he thought about this potentially happening!? Why didn't he REALIZE it was happening?? His sour mood and twitchiness should have been a bloody warning sign, dammit! He should've...._

 

_He should've warned the kid about it._

_About this._

_Now it was too late_

_As an animalistic growl fills the air around him, echoing around the stony walls, he sends a loud, hopeless warning to Kurosaki, before his vision goes black and red._

 

 

**_Get away from my zanpakuto, now!_ **

 

 

Ichigo’s eyes snap open as the loud scream echoes in his head, and he falls off the bed, holding his head with a groan.

His brain felt like someone was stabbing it with thousands of hot needles, just like that other time.

Except, this situation was _different._

That voice he’d heard just now, it had been a warning. 

The spirit had warned him about something that was going to happen.

Ichigo manages to lift his head, and watches in slight shock and horror as immense blue glow emits from the box underneath his bed, only for it to disintegrate the next second, and something viciously bright and blue emits from the sword, charging at him and enveloping the young man completely, making him convulse and twist erratically like he was having a seizure.

Something was trying to overpower his mind again, except this time it felt a lot more animalistic, and a lot more violent.

Ichigo opens his mouth but nothing comes out but a choked breath; his own spiritual pressure attempts to protect him from the sudden assault, but he still did not have enough control over it, so the defenses shatter, and he feels his mind being forcefully pushed down, as something else takes its place.

 

Moments later, a white figure leaps out of his window, disappearing into the forest.

 

 

 

Inoue and Hanataro were returning from their long day in the medic bay.

Despite Hanataro’s fears, Unohana-san had not been bothered by them being a few minutes late, though the raven haired male had still apologized several times over. As a nice gesture, he’d clumsily asked to escort Inoue home given it had gotten dark already.

While she didn’t really need it, the girl appreciated the gesture.

Her mind was still preoccupied with Ichigo however; that bruise on his neck, while it wasn’t too bad, she still didn’t like the idea the spirit was hurting him.

”Ah! Miss, your home is this way!”

Inoue looks up, realizing she’d almost wandered past her intersection, heading towards Ichigo’s house instead. For a moment she pauses, contemplating on her options. Then, a determined frown crosses her face, and she turns to look at Hanataro with a smile.

”It’s fine; I think I need to go see Kurosaki-kun for a bit. He had a nasty bruise on him from training earlier today.”

Hanataro looks at her unsure for a moment, then nods, asking if she’d require assistance. The girl shakes her head and thanks him politely for offering to help.

”You should head home Hanataro-kun. You look exhausted.”

The man blinks, then brushes his face, likely embarrassed about how tired he apparently looked.

He bowed at her, telling her goodnight and to stay safe, before heading towards his own house, stumbling on the way once as expected.

Inoue sighs and turns to walk towards the Kurosaki estate.

This path was the same forestall one she’d found Ichigo in earlier today, and the girl stops near the tree he’d been crouched in front of, pondering what exactly had occurred moments before she’d arrived.

Suddenly, there is some rustling in the bushes, and Inoue freezes, her sixth sense warning the girl of something dangerous nearby.

She turns around slowly, but all the girl could make out was the darkness of the woods and the dim lantern light ahead. Then, something big leaps at her, and she brings up a shield just as the figure crashes against it, snarling and growling loudly like an animal.

Inoue manages to use her shield to push the creature off her by sending it forward at high speed, making the thing crash against several trees before stopping. She was not violent by nature, and even now her stomach felt a little queasy about having to hurt a living being. However, it had been fairly clear that if she hadn’t done this, she’d likely have been seriously injured by her attacker.

Cautiously, the girl examines the woods, holding her shield ready in case there was another attack.

Moments later, the creature appears again, and she realizes it was a hollow. It had long sharp claws and fangs, and it reminded her of some sort of feline, except the tail had a sharp spike like that of a scorpion’s.

She watched in shock and awe as the thing flickered in and out of sight; was this another one of those strange invisible hollows that had been around lately?

The being snarls and charges at her, so Inoue brings her shield up again, stumbling back several steps as the creature’s full weight lands on her defenses.

The hollow snarls and claws at her shield, actually chipping pieces of it off, and the girl is forced to launch it away from her again, before running towards Ichigo’s house now. Her ears were ringing with terror now, and she needed to get help and fast.

She wasn’t a fighter.

A loud snarl is heard from behind her, and the girl yelps as heavy weight lands on her, and she manages to bring up her shield again as the hollow attempts to scratch her face. The girl could tell that her panic was affecting the strength of her defenses, as the orange protective shield was misshapen and wobbly right now, and she was struggling to keep it up. Eventually, the hollow grows tired of trying to claw its way trough her protective layer and gets off the girl, only to grab her leg and throw her in the air with a scared shriek.

Inoue quickly summons a protective bubble around her, softening the blow as she lands back to the ground again.

The creature jumps at her bubble and begins pounding and scratching on it, clearly wanting to eat her as its next meal no matter what. Her being highly sensitive spiritually did make her a tasty option for many of these beings.

”What do I do?”

Inoue thought in panic as she tried to keep her bubble up, which was hard given how afraid she was now.

The girl could only hope somebody had heard the commotion and would come to help her soon.

As her bubble begins to crack, tears appear in her eyes.

 

_What do I do, what do I do, **what do I do?**_

 

 

Luckily for her. Somebody, or something, had heard the commotion.

The hollow attacking her suddenly freezes and looks around; Inoue could sense the slight fear emanating from the being, and moments later, her hair stood to an end as well.

A figure appeared from the darkness, and Inoue stares at it with widened eyes, feeling cold grip her heart. It was pure white, aside from the thick, black fur-collar of the cape of sorts it was wearing.

White, bone-like armor covered the creature like most hollows had, ending in long, sharp black nails in both hands.

There was an extra joint on the legs, making them appear feline like, despite the fact the figure stood upwards. The mask was probably the scariest part of it; it reminded her of a large feline’s skull with long, sharp teeth on it, black lines running from the corners of the eyes towards the nose and the back of it. The glow inside the sockets was golden like with most hollows, but they had more feline like slits to them when comparing to other hollows she’d seen.

Long, messy, and thick bluish hair cascaded down the figure’s back, and she could even spot a tail behind the being, whipping around sharply.

The hollow jumped off from her and attempted to flee, but the figure was on it within seconds, grabbing the panicking creature and _ripping_ it in pieces with its bare hands.

Inoue watches in horror as blood drips to the ground from the body parts the creature held in its hands, dropping them before they dissolved into dust like usual.

For a moment, everything around them was eerily silent.

Then, the creature whips around and marches towards her, making Inoue back away with a scared whimper. The hollow slashes at her protective bubble just once, and it shatters completely, bits of orange scattering around her before dissolving into thin air. The next second, black claws wrap around her throat as she’s yanked off the ground and brought face-to-face with the terrifying creature.

The spiritual pressure emanating from it was _so_ intense that her head was spinning, and Inoue felt something warm drip down from her nose.

Blood, she was bleeding, and not just from her nose.

In her panic, she’d bit her lip and now bits of red were leaking down from the corner of her mouth as well.

The hollow examines her for a moment, as if trying to decide whenever she was worth devouring or not.

There was something...slightly familiar about the immense pressure the hollow carried, but it felt somehow _twisted_ from what it was supposed to be.

Suddenly, the figure turns its head sharply, as if it heard something.

Seconds later, a powerful spiritual pressure-attack forces the creature away from her with a snarl, and Inoue looks up at Rukia, who’d suddenly appeared and was currently holding her hand up, firing another energy ball at the thing, who blocks it by simply slashing it to pieces.

”Inoue, get out of here!”

Another voice, Renji from the other direction, and Inoue quickly gets up, scooting away and hiding behind Renji, who was glaring at the beast with a deep frown.

He’d _never_ seen - or felt - a hollow like this.

Aside from the sounds and the weird legs, it looked almost human, and the aura it was putting out was really dense.

Glancing at Inoue, he was not too surprised to see her nose bleeding; the power the creature was emitting was so thick it made it hard to breathe even for _him._

Suddenly, the hollow lets out a loud, inhuman growl, the sound-wave alone so powerful that it kicked off the dust and sand from the ground, bending the trees nearby and ripping some branches off, even forcing the two Shinigami to slide backwards several feet.

”What the hell is this thing?!”

Renji questions, then quickly swings his blade to block an attack aimed at him, as the creature attempts to slash his head off with a snarl. The pressure pushing against him was surprisingly strong, at the redhead feels himself back away even further.

The hollow growls again and suddenly swipes up, before kicking him in the stomach, sending the redhead hurl across the street, colliding with a tree eventually. Before he could gather his bearings, the hollow appears right in front of him, grabbing his jaw and throwing him in the air, swinging around and kicking him in the gut again, finishing it by whipping Renji across the face with the tail, then curling it around his neck and throwing the man right back, making him collide against Rukia who’d tried to sneak-attack the hollow.

The redhead coughs as he scrambles off her, then brushes his face, realizing the sharp, whip like tail had actually cut both his neck and cheek. His nose was also bleeding too now.

The raven haired girl looks at her companion with wide, worried eyes upon noticing the injuries. They weren’t deep, but the slightly unnerved look on Renji’s face was alarming.

”Rukia, be careful; that thing is...”

Before he could finish, the beast appears before them with a growl, and Rukia barely has time to bring up her blade to stop the strike, her muscles straining as she tries to hold off the attacker. Renji quickly summons a spirit pressure attack on his hand, but before he could fire it, the hollow cracks its jaw open and emits another one of those loud growls, sending the two stumble backwards several feet again, eventually coming to a stop near terrified Inoue, who’d been watching the whole fight from behind a tree.

Upon spotting her, Renji manages to push himself up and yells at her to go and get out of there already.

”But...”

_”Go! Get help! Now!”_

He growls at her, and she nods, quickly hurrying away.

The hollow seems to have no interest on chasing after her, too preoccupied with the two shinigami, who now attack it in tandem; both using their spiritual pressure attacks instead of blades, as getting too close to this one seemed to be a bad idea.

Some of the attacks land, but most are dodged by the hollow, or shattered by the whip-like tail.

”This guy is fucking fast!”

”Not just that; its toying with us; I can tell it hasn't used even half of its full power yet.” Rukia responds to Renji, a deep, slightly uneasy frown in her face as she sends another attack towards their opponent, who just casually shatters it with the sharp claws sticking out from the ends of its fingers.

Almost if hearing her comment, the hollow tilts its head and cracks its jaw open again, only this time it was a face-splitting grin.

The next second, the creature _laughs,_ and cold chills run down the two shinigami’s spines.

 

 

Rukia had no time to prepare for that attack.

One second, the hollow was standing far away from them.

The next, it was right at her face, and for a fleeting second of horror, the raven haired girl realizes she _knew those eyes,_ only for her world to be filled by pain as the hollow _pierces_ her body with his claws, not quite thrusting its arm trough her body, but deep enough to spill blood and make her cough it out as well.

Renji yells in shock as the hollow flings her off its arm casually, spreading the red liquid in a stream around it.

The next second, the golden eyes turn towards Renji, who was now charging at him with a vicious snarl, clearly having lost his cool.

His aimless swing of a sword was stopped with ease, as the hollow just grabs his blade and holds it in place.

Bits of blood drip down the palm, indicating Renji had at least cut the fucker, but he no longer could move his weapon at all, the grip on it was far too powerful.

”You...you _bastard!_ ”

Renji snarls, trying to yank his weapon away from the creatures hold.

The hollow just grins, then uses the sword to pull Renji off his feet, swinging him into the air, clearly aiming to thrust those sharp claws right trough his gut as well.

Except, then a voice breaks trough the chaos.

_”Ichigo...”_

The hollow lets Renji fly over him in an arch, landing somewhere far away from him, as the golden eyes snap back at Rukia, who was lying on a pool of her own blood, panting harshly and looking at him.

_”Ichigo....it’s...you...right?”_

The hollow turns and slowly walks towards her.

Renji attempts to get up, but realizes that he’d landed badly, and likely broken his leg now.

”Rukia!”

The hollow was now shadowing the bleeding woman, who looked up at the creature with exhausted eyes.

_”Ichigo...snap...out of it.”_

The creature reaches down for her, but suddenly stops, completely frozen.

Even the tail that usually seemed to swish around restlessly had stopped it’s movement.

The raven haired woman coughs out blood, managing to smile at him.

_”C’mon. Whatever... this is... you’re stronger than it...”_

The creature backs away with a look of horror in its face, and Renji watches in confusion and slight fear as it starts clawing at its own head, trying to rip of its own mask. Given hollows usually died when you did that, it seemed like the thing was trying to kill itself.

A vicious, desperate shriek leaves the hollows throat, and now Renji realizes too, that he recognizes the voice; his eyes widen in panic, as the blue strands slowly start to turn into fiery orange.

The claws dig into the mask, causing several cracks spread all across it, and blood starts seeping from underneath as well, as those same sharp nails dive themselves into his scalp.

Finally, the mask shatters with a loud crack, and the immense pressure emitting from the figure disappears instantly.

Renji just stares in horror as the white bleeds away from the figure, exposing his ginger friend beneath, wearing the short hakama he usually wore when sleeping.

Blood seeped from his head, leaving tracks to his face and hair, and Ichigo’s eyes - one normal brown, other one still golden - were filled with tears.

_”Oh...gods...Rukia...I...”_

He falls to the ground the next second, losing consciousness just as a group heads towards the scene.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy  
> this chapter was a doucey  
> I got the idea for Grimmjow going wild from Koujaku of dramatical murder. You know, he's got that tattoo that can make him go berserk.  
> In this case it's just...  
> well, Grimm will explain in the next chapter. I have no clue how that fight scene is, it's been a while again since I wrote one properly. 
> 
> ...I don't even know how I ended up looking at fanart for this game randomly after so many years and starting to ship Aoba and Koujaku again. Life is weird huh.


	13. words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo wakes up in urahara's house, and learns that he wasn't the only one who knew about Grimmjow

His heart was throbbing, but despite the horrid ache, the ginger forces his eyes open slowly, realizing that he was no longer in his room.

Ichigo was back in that dreamscape Grimmjow normally lingered in.

Lately he’d been popping into his memories so much that it was a surprise to find himself there for once.

It was clear something was off however, as everything was covered in this eerie reddish glow. There were scratch-marks everywhere, and the air was thick to breathe. With great effort, Ichigo manages to push himself off the floor and he looks around uneasily, searching for the familiar patch of blue, but it was nowhere to be found.

The ginger holds his head, trying to recall what had happened.

Last thing he could remember was Grimmjow screaming out a warning at him; it had sounded almost... desperate.

Like he’d known something bad was about to happen.

The next moment, he’d been engulfed by this blue aura, that kind of felt like Grimmjow’s, except it wasn’t really it. Something had been wrong with it. It had felt weirdly feral, the aggressiveness reminding Ichigo of when he’d flipped his shit in the museum, except it hadn’t felt like an angry outburst. This time it had just felt... chaotic.

Chaotic and bloodthirsty.

Now he was stuck in here, the reddish glow casting everything into a creepy light, and the place was freaky looking already given how hollow and abandoned it looked.

Suddenly, a noise catches his attention, and Ichigo looks towards it, realizing that a pair of blue eyes were staring down at him from the darkness above.

”....Grimmjow?”

The figure shifts, and Ichigo realizes a second too late that something was off about the spirit himself too, not just the place around them.

Grimmjow leaps at him and forces him to the floor with a fierce snarl, and Ichigo barely has time to dodge the claws aimed at his head. As the blunet tries to strike at him again, Ichigo grabs the hand aimed at him, managing to keep it away with a bit of a struggle.

Blood dripped from the small cuts the claws were leaving to his hands, but Ichigo didn’t care about it; he was too preoccupied by the eyes looking down at him.

The normally white sclera was now black like with most hollows, and the glazed look in the blue irises indicated that Grimmjow was not quite there right now; he was also in that battle-form again, but it too looked messier than usual; the hair was wilder, the claws longer, and the markings next to his eyes were not the usual teal color, but black.

The man growls at him like an actual panther, and yanks his hand back, forcing Ichigo to shove Grimmjow off him before he’d be scewered.

_”What’s going on?!”_

The ginger asks, then quickly dodges as the man leaps at him in all fours.

Deep slashes are left at the spot Ichigo had stood on just seconds ago, and his eyes widen in worry and fear; something was badly wrong with the spirit. It seemed like Grimmjow had completely lost control of himself, he was behaving almost like how the more animalistic hollows acted.

Except, he was _infinitely_ more powerful than any of them, even in this spiritual form.

Ichigo dodges another slash, looking around for any way to defend himself.

The panic inside his brain was likely amplified by the eeriness of his surroundings and the thick atmosphere trapping them.

It almost felt like the chains that had tried to drag him into oblivion that one time, except there were no actual chains around.

There was nothing he could use for his defense; Ichigo was in Grimmjow’s home-turf after all and the ginger had no idea how to wake up from this nightmare, so that left Ichigo with one option; **run.**

He turned on his heels and sprinted away, not really knowing where to go; the whole place was a prison within a blade anyway, an unreal setting that only his mind had somehow accessed, not his body.

Briefly, Ichigo wondered if Grimmjow could _actually_ harm him given this wasn’t really happening, but then the blunet suddenly appears next to him and kicks him against a wall with a snarl.

Yes, it **did** hurt like a bitch, which meant he was in trouble.

Ichigo slides down the wall, feeling his head leave a stain behind him.

Shit, was he bleeding?

Was bleeding in this realm bad in real life too?

He had turned transparent according to Inoue back when he’d first taken a peek on Grimmjow’s memory....

 

An arm grasps his throat, forcing him further against the wall as Grimmjow growls at him.

Ichigo attempts to force the arm off him, but the blunet just uses his free hand to force his hands against the wall above his head, claws sinking into the skin on his wrist, making Ichigo flinch and let out an embarrassingly pathetic whimper.

More blood dripped down his arms now, and Ichigo’s heart beat strongly in his chest; he could barely breathe properly, and not only because of the tight grip on his throat.

While this was only happening in his head, it hurt like crazy.

Ichigo tugs on his arms to try and pry them free, but his head was spinning from the earlier impact, and all he manages to do is make himself dizzier. The blood had now dripped on his shoulders as well, and it felt unpleasant as all hell. Ichigo suddenly realizes that the blue eyes were examining him quietly now.

Grimmjow had gone quiet, and the hand on his throat no longer squeezed painfully, although it was still a little difficult to breathe.

_”...Grimm...?”_

Ichigo manages to cough out, his arms straining from the position they were forcibly kept.

He notices that the blue eyes followed the stream of blood running down his arms, dripping to his shoulder and continuing from there, eventually stopping at the loose collar of his night clothing. Some drops made their way underneath, and Ichigo could feel a few droplets run down his chest and belly. It felt really uncomfortable, and he kind of wanted to wipe the blood off him, but couldn’t move as he was still being pinned against the wall.

It was....a little unnerving, the way Grimmjow was watching him bleed as if _mesmerized._

Sure, the man was clearly a violent person, but this was a bit too much.

The eerie, glowing eyes stared at him for so long that Ichigo wasn’t sure anymore if the man was really watching him bleed, or just... **him.**

The aura he was putting off still felt highly feral, but there was a shift to it that was a little intimidating.

Granted, it had been that already when the spirit had tried to cut him up; Grimmjow’s aura was still predatory like earlier, but there was a distinct, different feel to it.

It was actually **freakier** than the earlier murdery feeling.

”Grimmjow, what’s going on?”

Ichigo attempts to reach the spirit again, but he gains no response.

Suddenly, the blue haired figure leans closer and Ichigo lets out an involuntary whimper, feeling a hot breath brush over his jaw and shoulder.

Something warm and wet then brushes his skin, and Ichigo abruptly realizes that the spirit was... licking the blood off his shoulder.

His face slowly turns from pale to red, and he tugs on his arms even more frantic, even moving his legs to try and kick the blunet away. There was a hiss next to his ear, and the next second sharp teeth sink into his neck, making Ichigo flinch and yelp out in pain. More blood seeps from the bite wound, and a warm tongue is swift to lick it away.

Ichigo had thought of several different scenarios of what could happen, but never something like _this._

Suddenly, the whole building around them shudders, as if an earthquake hit it. There was a strange wind blowing trough the area, something that almost sounded like... a whisper?

Grimmjow’s eyes snap open and he sprints off from Ichigo, backing away and clutching his head with a groan.

The ginger holds his bleeding shoulder with widened eyes, and watches the man twitch and growl, slashing and clawing at his surroundings like he was having a seizure. Then, the reddish glow around them starts to lift, and Grimmjow slants his palm flat against the wall, panting heavily as the armor slowly starts to crumble away from around him, exposing his toned back and the gnarly, old scarring on it.

He was panting harshly, like he’d just ran a marathon.

Eventually, the man slips to the floor, clutching his head and curling up, a slight, twisted laugh escaping his lips. It was not a happy one, but hysteric. Cautiously, Ichigo leaves his side of the wall, and then realizes that the blood was gone. There was still a slight bite mark on his neck, but the stains from earlier - including the one on the wall - were gone, reminding the ginger yet again this was all happening in his head.

”Grimmjow? What...are you...?”

The blue eyes turn to look at him, and the hysteric laughter dies down, but the grin never falters.

”Suppose...I shoulda have warned ya sooner. Didn’t recognize what was happenin’ till it was too late.”

He chuckles out, his voice uneven, and the man was clutching his hair so tightly Ichigo worried he’d tear parts of it off.

”Grimmj...”

”Get outta here, an’ pray ya didn’t kill anyone.”

The man tells him firmly, then Ichigo could feel himself be thrown out from his space again, last thing his ears caught being a faint, almost reluctant apology.

 

 

 

_His vision was blurry._

_There was something in front of him. It smelt like blood._

_Somebody was talking to him._

_A voice._

_A familiar voice._

_He reaches towards the figure, not knowing why._

_Black hair._

_Grey eyes._

_Short woman...._

_His head clears and he backs away in utter shock, as he recognizes the bloodied figure in front of him._

_It was Rukia._

_She was bleeding, **badly** , from her stomach. _

Somebody had attacked her, and the wound was nasty.

_Who?_

_As he glances at his hand, he realizes it was bloody._

_Oh god..._

 

 

_**Pray ya didn’t kill anyone.** _

 

 

_An inhuman shriek leaves his throat, and he claws at his head, realizing it was covered by something._

_Desperately, he tries to get rid of it, whatever it was._

_I did this._

_**I did this I did this I did this I did this.** _

_Finally, something **cracks** , and moonlight hits his eyes properly. _

_He stares at the woman, who just smiles weakly at him._

_He was bleeding, but he didn’t care._

_”Oh...Gods...Rukia, I...”_

_His vision goes black._

 

 

 

 

 

 

The large figure sat there quietly, listening to what his spies described about the events in human realm.

If he was honest with himself, the hollow was pleased; he had never believed that weakling Chandelier could ever hope to bring back the zanpakuto.

He’d sent her to the mission simply to test his theory some more.

After what had happened in the temple to Shrieker, he’d been curious about the bright haired shinigami. Nobody had survived an encounter with that blade before, let alone seemingly be able to channel it somewhat.

All the things his spies had reported to him about the several encounters with the hollows he’d sent to ’retrieve’ the powerful weapon further made it clear, that this was what he’d been looking for.

A suitable vessel. The fact it was a Shinigami didn't matter too much.

”What shall we do now, Master? We still haven’t been able to retrieve the blade from the boy.”

One of his underlings questions the large hollow, who remains quiet for a moment, before getting up and pacing down from his makeshift throne.

”Given what just happened with him, I believe now it is a good time to move into persuasion tactics.”

”But...Chandelier tried that already. It didn’t work.”

The large hollow lets out a long suffering sigh and smacks the underling aside, killing him with that simple strike as the weakling’s mask shattered to pieces. Rest of his followers back away slightly unnerved, sensing their leader did not have the patience to deal with such stupid questions.

”Last time, she made the mistake of attempting it on the boy’s own grounds. All we need to do is go and bring our offering here.”

After a moment of tense silence, the hollows began cheering at their leader, clearly exited about the prospect of bringing humans - food - in their own territory.

”Need I remind you, you are not allowed to devour them until we get what we want.”

He tells the group sternly, who turn dead silent upon hearing the stealth in his tone.

The large hollow lets out another sigh and walks away from the large cave, pacing towards the area further away, which had light coming down on it from a hole far up in the ceiling.

Oh, he missed those times when there were more... _intelligent_ hollows around.

Back when their kings and queens still existed.

If his plan would work however, Hueco Mundo would soon have a new king.

The thought excited him quite a lot, even if he didn’t show it.

 

 

 

 

When Ichigo came to, his head was throbbing again.

He opened his eyes slowly, noting he was lying on a mattress in the middle of a room somewhere.

There was glowing, green kido walls all around him, trapping him inside the place.

The ginger scrambles up, but the abrupt movement was too much for him to handle, and he slumps right back down with a groan, almost wanting to throw up.

”I see you’re back to normal.”

The brown eyes sought the source of the voice, and he soon spotted a familiar, hat wearing figure sitting cross legged at the other side of the green barrier.

_”...Urahara?....where...?”_

”In my house’s basement. Pardon me for the kido wall, but we had to make sure you would not harm anybody.”

Within seconds, Ichigo’s head clears and he looks up at the man with a worried, guilty look. Before he could even ask anything however, Urahara gives him a reassuring smile.

”Kuchiki is okay; Inoue came with us and healed her instantly. She was more worried about you than her own wellbeing.”

Ichigo lets out a sigh of relief, but it still didn’t undo the horrible thing he’d done.

He brings his hands up, noting they were shaking a little. There was no blood on them, indicating he’d been washed before he was put in this kido prison. The white robes he was wearing were also different from his usual pajamas; they reminded him of the stuff you wore in medical wing.

”....What happened?”

”I was hoping you could answer that question, Kurosaki-san.”

Urahara’s tone was serious, and Ichigo looks up at the man, not knowing what to say. Upon seeing his uneasy gaze, the man sighs and puts down his hat, looking at Ichigo seriously.

”I know about the spirit. I know you took the blade. What happened to you must relate to him.”

Ichigo should not have been surprised about this, but he still was.

”If you... why did you let me take it back?”

”I....suppose one could say I felt that the only one who’d have the right to deal with that Zanpakuto, it would be you. I let my sentimental side get the better of me.”

There was a hint of an apology in Urahara’s tone, though Ichigo had no clue what those words meant exactly.

”You must have learned some details about the spirit residing in the blade, have you not?”

After a moment of silence, Ichigo nods slightly.

”I thought...given the owner was friends with your ancestor, perhaps you’d be capable of easing his fury towards us and our past sins, but it seems that was not the case.”

Ichigo just stares at the man in slight shock for a moment, then he frowns, turning his gaze away as his eyes land back on his hands.

”....That whole thing with Aizen?”

Urahara just nods wordlessly.

Ichigo sighs and brushes trough his hair with both hands; he really shouldn’t be surprised that the hat wearing shinigami knew about all that. Urahara knew about a lot of things that most didn’t.

”Still... given his behavior with you up until now...I did not think he’d make you attack your friends like that.”

The ginger turns his frown at Urahara; just how much had the man been observing him?

”....He didn’t. I don’t think Grimmjow really controlled what was happening.”

Urahara blinks, surprised to hear that and requests him to elaborate. Ichigo bites his lip, then figures there was no point in hiding anything anymore from the man, when he clearly knew even more about this than Ichigo himself did.

”I...he warned me before it happened; I woke up with him yelling at me to get away from his blade. I didn’t make it on time though.”

The sand blond haired man looks at him curiously.

”I...I woke up, or I guess I dreamed...” Ichigo wasn’t sure what to call it.

”I found myself in the blade again; at least, Grimmjow calls that weird place that kinda looks like the broken down Palace in Hueco mundo as the zanpakuto’s own space. It was different from usual; everything was just...red. Glowing like in some weird nightmare. He was also...different.”

Ichigo swallows down, his hand reaching for the spot Grimmjow had bit him. There was nothing there, but he could almost feel the teeth pressing against his skin again.

_”Different?”_

”He...I don’t think he was really aware of what was happening at first; he was acting more like those animalistic hollows, growling and snarling at me, trying to slice me to pieces with his claws.”

”And he doesn’t usually do this?”

Ichigo frowns at the man slightly annoyed.

” **No**. Usually he just....talks to me. If he’s on the mood anyway.”

That clearly seemed to catch Urahara’s interest, Ichigo could tell from the glint in his eyes. The man holds his chin thoughtfully, before asking what did they usually talk about.

”Mostly it’s just him giving me snarky or crude remarks. Though...”

Ichigo turns his gaze away, rubbing his neck slightly.

”He...does...share some bits about his past to me. He’s shown me... or rather I’ve randomly seen some of his memories.”

Ichigo still did not know how that worked; it seemed after Grimmjow had shown him that memory, it was like some sort of wall had been broken, allowing Ichigo to see the man’s memories in his dreams. Granted, so far it had only happened once, but even that one time was bizarre.

”....Did this ’random’ occurrence happen before or after your spell casting attempt with Inoue-chan?”

Ichigo almost wanted to ask how the hell did the man know about that too, only to remember that Urahara had been the one to come and check on the situation.

”...After. He...after that day, he became more open about talking to me. He showed me a bit of his memories, and sometime after, I had a dream....”

Urahara hums, that unnerving glint not leaving his eyes.

”I see...so this time was different?”

Ichigo nods.

While the whole situation had been terrifying, he did not blame Grimmjow for what happened.

The thought was almost bizarre, in all honesty; had Grimmjow not been there, none of it would have happened. Rukia would not have gotten hurt. It was just... thinking back on the warning scream he’d heard in his head, the _panic_ in the voice telling him to get away, it was clear to Ichigo that the blunet had not meant to force him into such situation.

Something had happened that had caused Grimmjow to lose control of himself briefly.

”...Where’s...”

”I took the liberty to take that blade back. I sealed it away properly for now, just in case. We cannot be sure if he’ll end up doing this again if I let him remain nearby you.”

Ichigo frowns, not sure what to think about that; it was only a logical thing to do, but... he really wanted to know just what the hell had that been. Given what Grimmjow had told him, it sounded like the thing had been something that had happened before. His expression turns a little sour, and his earlier mood of not wanting to blame Grimmjow shifts away a litte bit; if the spirit had known such a thing could happen, why hadn’t he warned Ichigo about it?

Then again... given how sudden it was, and there had been no previous indication, knowing about it beforehand perhaps would not have helped anyway.

”I hope you understand that I had to inform Ukitake-san about what happened.”

Ichigo’s eyes snap up at Urahara, and his brown orbs were wide.

”He was already somewhat aware of the attacks aimed at you, so we really had no choice but to enlighten him more on what happened.”

”What did you tell him exactly?”

Urahara opens his fan, hiding parts of his face behind it.

”I told him that you were possessed by the spirit inside the _real_ blue blade, which you'd snatched from me while I wasn't looking. He insisted on getting it away from you and handed over to the order. I agreed on the first part.”

Ichigo felt a slight concern appear on his face; there was no question, if the zanpakuto was handed over to the Shinigami Order, they’d try to destroy it.

”Ukitake-san wants to hear your side of the story as well; so far Rukia and Renji filled him in on what they knew. I actually came down here to see if you’d be awake.”

Ichigo just nods, his mouth slightly dry.

He didn’t really know what he should tell his superior. While Ukitake was a calm and gentle mannered man, he likely didn’t appreciate the fact Ichigo had hidden something so dangerous from him. Let alone the risk he’d put himself into.

”It is up to you to decide on the fate of that zanpakuto and its inhabitant.”

The man suddenly comments, and the ginger looks up at him confused.

”I cannot really disobey if Ukitake-san orders me to hand it over with an official note from the Order.”

Urahara didn’t need to explain what that meant. Ichigo just nods and watches as Urahara gets up, dusting off his clothes.

”I’ll inform Ukitake about you being awake. I cannot really put down the kido-wall until he is certain you won’t go berserk on us again.”

With that, the man heads back up the stairs, leaving Ichigo sit there with a tight knot on his stomach.

He had no idea what to do now.

In all honesty, he should just let the order destroy the zanpakuto; he lost nothing for that, and keeping it gained him nothing. Apart from learning things about a period in history shrouded in mystery, and Ichigo didn't really know what he was supposed to do with all that knowledge, he was not part of the intelligence branch.

It was just....despite only knowing the spirit for such a short period, thanks to the memories he’d seen about his ancestor and his interaction with Grimmjow, it felt like he’d _known_ the man far longer.

Even then, it wasn’t like the blunet had actually done anything deserving of a capital punishment like that as far as he knew.

All Grimmjow had done...was be a hollow. 

A hollow that didn't even hunt humans.

The ginger lets out a frustrated sigh and rubs his eyes, really not knowing how to process this situation.

Footsteps gain his attention, and soon enough, a familiar white haired figure enters the room. Ukitake did not seem mad, but there was definitely a concerned frown on his face.

”Kurosaki-kun.”

He sounded like a parent scolding a child, sitting down on the spot Urahara had previously sat on.

”Ukitake-san.”

Ichigo greets him, unable to look at the man in the eye. He felt guilty again, under the almost parental look of his superior.

”...I cannot really fathom the reasons behind your decision of not disclosing to us about that zanpakuto, let alone taking it from the safe confinements of Kisuke.”

His voice was gentle, but held a level of scolding authority to it. Ichigo just shrugs, still not lifting his gaze from his lap.

”I...understand that your inability to access your full power can be frustrating, but using an unknown artifact with a foreign power like this...”

The brown eyes finally look up at Ukitake with a frown.

”I did NOT take him... _it_ , back because of power. I never expected he’d bother helping me as often as he has!”

Ukitake lifts eyebrow slightly, asking why did he retrieve the blade then.

”I...look, Urahara said he briefed you on this.”

The man nods slightly.

”Did he... did he tell you that the spirit in the zanpakuto is... connected to my ancestor?”

The white haired man remains quiet, and his expression turns unreadable. Finally, Ukitake sighs and nods, rubbing his eyes.

”I was....aware that there was a connection between your family and the old rulers of Hueco Mundo, though the scrolls we have describe nothing of the details of the relationship.”

This was news, and Ichigo let it show on his face. Ukitake knew about the ten leaders in the first place? What?

”It seems... you have stumbled in the middle of a rather large secret of the Shinigami order, a secret only the leaders are supposed to know.” The white haired man comments with an exhausted tone, still rubbing his temple.

He was clearly not happy about the fact he just stated.

”Secret? That our ancestors, well one of them anyway, a person we hail as a _hero_ , committed mass genocide?”

Ichigo couldn’t stop but state out loud, his tone biting.

Ukitake seems taken aback by the sudden comment, but remains calm as usual.

Ichigo frowns and manages to get up, walking shakily to sit right in front of Ukitake now.

”He showed me how Shinigami used to work together with them. Grimmjow was FRIENDS with my ancestor, Kaien. I still don’t know why this was a thing, but...”

Ichigo shakes his head, as the memories he’d seen about the blunet’s interactions with his coal haired ancestor appear in his brain again like a bittersweet sideshow.

”To my understanding, it was done as a form of truce and peace negotiations between us and Hueco Mundo. Around that time, Hollow attacks had risen to alarming numbers, to the point that even the ten royal Espadas had become concerned about this.”

Ichigo looks up at Ukitake surprised, and the man gives him a thoughtful look, as if trying to decide whenever Ichigo needed to know about this or not.

”I don’t really _care_ what the reason was, it doesn't really matter.”

Ichigo tells the man firmly before he could make the decision however.

”What I could tell from all the things shown to me, that my great great - and-then-some - gramps _adored_ Grimmjow, as a friend I mean, and trusted him. Then we stabbed him in the back for some reason, and now we are hailing Aizen like he’d done some great sacrifice, when in truth he just ....killed our allies!”

His tone was a bit more accusing than was strictly necessary; for one, Ukitake had personally nothing to do with what had happened back then, and Ichigo had nothing to do with it either.

It was just, seeing all those things, seeing some of the memories from Grimmjow’s point of view... It had given Ichigo a surprising level of sympathy towards the man, even if he did not quite have all the pieces of the puzzle gathered up and put into place.

Ukitake remains silent for a long moment, before releasing a slow breath, closing his eyes with a frown.

”While I can somewhat understand your anger given what you’ve apparently learned, are you certain it is not him trying to influence your mindset to make you pity him?”

Ichigo just stared at the man, suddenly wanting to laugh.

_**Oh hell no.** _

Grimmjow was clearly the type of person who’d never want anyone to pity him, ever.

Apparently his reply was visible from his expression, as Ukitake sighs and smiles a bit.

”It is admirable of you to sympathize with him, but keep in mind that the spirit of that blade is no victim; he almost made you slaughter your friends.”

” _He didn’t mean to!_ He just lost his shit for a moment for some reason, he tried to warn me about it!”

Ichigo spats at the man, taking them both by surprise. Why was he defending Grimmjow so much? Sure the man had sort of saved his ass a couple of times, so ichigo did feel slightly indebted, but still....

”....Are you truly certain he is not influencing you? You barely know the spirit.”

Ichigo could tell Ukitake was concerned.

Hell, he understood the skepticism from his superior; Ichigo did not really know Grimmjow that well, he had no true reason to want to defend him this bad. The dreams and memories he had seen, they did clearly effect his mindset towards the blunet, but Ichigo knew the man had not shown those to him to gain his sympathy.

Grimmjow had simply done it because he had nothing to lose.

~~And he found Ichigo's persistent curiosity annoying enough to give in to make him stop asking shit.~~

The ginger bites his lip and turns his glare away, suddenly not feeling like talking about this anymore.

The whole situation was a nightmare as it was, he didn’t need to argue with his boss on top of everything.

Without a word, Ichigo turns his back to Ukitake, signaling that he no longer wished to talk. It wasn’t just his disdain towards the man’s claims that Grimmjow was manipulating him - while it made logical sense in an outsider’s point of view, Ichigo had talked to the man enough to tell it wasn’t his style - but he also was still trying to process the whole thing of almost stabbing his friend to death, while he was simultaneously being cut up and bitten by the same entity that had involuntarily possessed him.

”.....I suppose you are not in the right mental state to speak of this yet. You need rest.”

Ukitake concludes finally and gets up slowly.

”We’ll be keeping this kido-wall up for a day or so. Urahara will monitor you up until he’s certain you are free of possession completely. We already informed your family that you’ll be away for a few days.”

Ichigo just mutters something incoherent under his breath, and the man shakes his head with a sad smile, before heading upstairs.

”Is Ichigo okay? Urahara wouldn’t say anything.”

Renji questions the man as he comes back up, and Ukitake reassures the worried trio that their friend was doing fine.

”He is... still processing what happened, but seemed to be himself.”

”Oh thank goodness....” Rukia releases a slow breath, then flinches as her body still hurt, despite Inoue healing her injury.

She was lying on a bed with Orihime and Renji sitting on either side of it, both concerned for her and the ginger.

”It was that spirit, wasn’t it?”

Ukitake looks up at Inoue surprised, and the girl bites her lip.

”Ichigo...earlier that day, I found him sitting on the ground with a bruise on his neck. He reassured me it was fine, but...”

The girl shakes her head and wipes her eyes, not wanting to start weeping like that in front of Ukitake.

”....Well, to my understanding the spirit did not necessarily do it on purpose, according to your friend.”

Ukitake comments after a moment of silence, squeezing her shoulder gently.

”Regardless of that, he is okay at the moment, just not in a good mood.”

”Can we go see him?”

Renji questions instantly, kind of wanting to yell at his friend for not telling them about his volatile spiritual roommate. Ukitake shakes his head, telling them that right now the ginger wasn’t on the mood to talk.

”You can go see him later, but right now he needs space.”

The man turns to Urahara, who’d remained quiet during this exchange.

”I’ll be discussing this matter with Kyoraku-san. Keep the zanpakuto with you until then.”

Urahara just nods and escorts the man out to the door.

”Seriously, why didn’t Ichigo tell us about that crazy berserk ghost he had in his weapon? I thought it was just some sturdier practice blade he’d found.”

Renji grumbles out, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

”You know how stubborn he can be."

Rukia comments with a sigh, leaning back down against her pillow.

She honestly wanted to go down and shake Ichigo herself for being a stubborn idiot, but her body still felt too weak, and she could imagine the fool felt incredibly guilty for what he did. It wasn’t his fault, but the spirit’s.

Whenever what Ukitake said about the possession being involuntary or not didn’t really matter.

 

 

 

”That was quite a doucey situation, wasn’t it Kisuke?”

Yoruichi comments as she drinks her team glancing at the group of kids resting on the guest room.

Inoue and Renji had insisted on staying with Rukia, though their worry was probably also aimed at the ginger downstairs. She’d gone down there to bring Kurosaki some food and more comfortable blankets and such; it felt a little silly to keep him behind those barriers when he was clearly clear-headed, but the ginger seemed to understand the reasoning behind it, as he hadn’t complained too much.

That, or he was too sunken in thought to care, given how he’d barely reacted to Yoruichi’s presence, just nodding at her slightly while his eyes were still afar.

”It was...unexpected. Given all that I had observed so far, I did not expect the spirit to suddenly do something like this; all the signs so far were pointing on him being somewhat  _protective_ over Kurosaki rather than aggressive towards him.”

”I don’t know; that stunt in the museum was pretty bad.”

Urahara hums, drinking his tea.

”It was... an understandable reaction once you know the history, Yoruichi-san. While he did lash out at that time, we mustn't forget about the fact he did save Ichigo during their first interaction. He brought his injured body for Orihime to be healed, and to my understanding, prevented Ichigo from destroying the school or harming Hachi-san by accident just recently.”

”....Okay, I kind of see what you mean. I still don’t understand why you want to aid this spirit, let alone why you think Kurosaki can help with that.”

Urahara smiles a bit; while he had revealed his knowledge of past events to his close friend already, he had not mentioned the reason behind his actions exactly.

The man glances towards the sealed box that currently housed the blue zanpakuto.

”....Let’s just say it was a request I couldn’t really turn down.”

Yoruichi looks at her friend confused, but the man refuses to elaborate on it.

The woman considers on forcing the truth out of Kisuke, but on the other hand, she had a feeling the man would eventually tell her the truth anyway. Now just wasn’t the right time.

 

 

 

It had been a bizarre night.

 

 

_While waiting for the team to come back from Hueco Mundo, Urahara had been sitting on his kitchen, drinking tea._

_Tessai was watching the portal, ready to inform him if the team was returning from their mission. He had not been surprised at all about Ichigo insisting on joining his friends, the boy was all too eager to head into the path of danger. It wasn’t too surprising, given how his late mother had been in her youth._

_Urahara chuckles a bit, noting that Ichigo reminded his mother so much more when comparing to his father._

_Isshin and his son were almost nothing alike, aside from the strong sense to protect those they cared for._

_That’s when he’d suddenly sensed it._

_A chill traveling down his spine._

_The man looked around his house, but could not see anything._

_Tessai was still downstairs, Yoruichi was not around, and the kids were outside. Cautiously, the man stands up, holding his cane firmly in his hand. The man paces towards the source of the sensation, realizing it was coming from his secret room downstairs._

_Urahara opens the staircase, and walks down, keeping his senses on high alert._

_There was definitely something in there, but he wasn’t certain what it was, nor how it could have accessed his secret room._

_Once he reaches the end of the stairs, Urahara looks around, but spots nothing at first._

_Then, as he turns his attention towards his work desk, the chill on his spine grew stronger._

_After a moment of almost eerie silence, his eyes begin to make out something, a pale specter standing next to his table, head tilted downwards as if the figure was looking at something._

_It felt... unusual._

_Not a hollow, but definitely something with slight spiritual pressure._

_As he walks closer cautiously, the figure suddenly lifts its head and turns towards him with slow, ghostly movement._

_Urahara’s eyes widen, as he realizes the figure had a mask, like a hollow would._

_Yet, it did not... **feel** like a hollow. _

_Examining the pale specter, that just stood there, gazing at him with an empty look, Urahara noted the figure reminded him a lot about the beast described in that painting about Aizen Sousuke in the museum._

_Suddenly, the ghost moves forward, reaching towards him._

_Urahara grabs his cane, ready to pull out his blade, but a voice echoing in his head stops him from doing so._

_It was faint, a silent echo that one could mistake for the howl of a wind, but the man could tell the voice belonged to the strange, hollow-like figure that was standing before him._

 

**_”...help...my grandchild...he can...fix this....”_ **

_The ghost was almost touching him now, and he was frozen in place, unable to move._

_The spirit held no ill will despite the terrifying appearance; all Urahara felt from it was sorrow, and desperation._

_As the white claws brush and phase trough him, an image filled his head, and Kisuke’s eyes widen in shock._

_He knew this ghost._

_He knew who it was._

_It made no sense._

_When human soul was devoured by a hollow, no remnants would be left behind._

_Almost if noticing that Urahara had recognized him, the ghost backs away slowly, turning his gaze back at the thing it had been looking at._

**_”I’m sorry....I couldn’t....”_ **

_After that whisper, the figure fades completely, and Urahara could suddenly hear the typical sounds around him again, not just his heartbeat._

_As the man walks to his desk, he now sees what the spirit had been looking at. It was the black covered diary he’d found months ago, belonging to Kaien Shiba._

_The book was open, and the picture had a portrait of a man Urahara was not quite sure of the identity of, not yet at least; he had a theory given what he'd read of the peculiar book so far, but....._

_Urahara then notices that the ghost had somehow scribbled something on an empty page near the end. Urahara reads the text, his frown turning into a wide gaze as he took in the words on the yellowed paper._

_A while later, Tessai informed him that the group had returned, and Ichigo was badly injured. He’d also apparently brought an unknown zanpakuto with him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boiii  
> I need to keep checking back to my previous chapters so I don't loose the plot. The story has begun to evolve a little from my original plan at this point.   
> I was really tempted to just make Grimm act like attention hungry house-cat but it didn't fit to the mood of the situation.  
> Maybe later.
> 
> ......I guess Ichigo is tasty //gets pied//


	14. specter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ichigo meets the ghost  
> He also learns some new things as usual  
> then shit hits the fan

Ichigo couldn’t really sleep that night.

Rukia, Renji and Inoue had eventually come down to talk to him, and seeing the raven haired woman still pale and needing support to go down the stairs made his heart ache with immense guilt.

Ichigo had pretty much bowed his head to the ground and apologized profusely from Rukia, at the verge of tears again almost embarrassingly; he just HATED the idea that he'd ever harm any of his friends, be it accidentally, on purpose, or when he was possessed like earlier.

Rukia had just shaken her head, calling him an idiot for worrying them. 

She would have likely smacked him too if she could, but the energy barrier between them prevented her from doing it.

Ichigo had also thanked Inoue about hundred times for saving Rukia, making the girl blush and tell him he didn’t have to thank her as she would’ve done it anyway. The young man knew it, but after what he’d almost done, he felt the need to tell her just how much he appreciated it.

They had chatted for a while longer, though Ichigo noticeably was quieter than usual, unable to really look any of them in the eye, especially Rukia. The woman felt a little irritated about it, but also understood why Ichigo couldn’t bring himself to do it right now. She didn’t blame him, she really didn’t, but...the guilt over almost killing your friend, even if it was not out of your own volition, was not easy to get over. 

It was quite clear Rukia wanted to nag at him some more about the zanpakuto and how he'd stolen it back from Urahara after the man had taken it since the incident in the museum - the blond was forced to explain to the confused trio the whole story about the blade - but she kept it all to herself, likely aware that Ichigo knew already what he did was probably stupid.

Plus, she was still exhausted, so the short woman didn't really have the energy to nag anyway.

Eventually, the trio had gone back upstairs for the night, but promised to see him in the morning as soon as they woke up.

The ginger sighs, gazing at the ceiling.

It was kind of lonely, lonely and creepy to be stuck inside the barrier at Urahara’s basement room.

It actually sounded kind of _wrong_ , now when he thought about it.

Being stuck inside a spiritual barrier in a weird, eccentric and kind of perverted old man's basement.

...........Wow, putting it like _that_ sounded even WORSE. 

With a sigh, he gets up and brushes trough his hair, looking around.

It was kind of eerie, how the barrier muffled any usual sounds you’d hear in a house like this.

Ichigo glances at the pile of books Yoruichi had brought him alongside the blankets and food from earlier. He had not paid much attention to her, still trying to understand what happened.

All in all, this whole episode with Grimmjow was perhaps... understandable, at least a little bit.

He was _clearly_ a naturally volatile person, and a violent one too.

He’d been stuck in that blade for so long, alone with his thoughts, so... it was no wonder he’d end up having episodes where he’d just go downright berserk.

Why he’d possessed Ichigo, the ginger wasn’t certain; perhaps it had been his instinctive desire to get out, as it seemed that state was controlled purely by instincts.

Given all the snarling, growling, and walking on all fours.

Ichigo brings his hand up to brush his neck again; he was _still_ confused about that biting thing.

It did not feel like he was trying to eat him - as in, devour his soul like most animalistic hollows would do - but if it wasn’t that, what had it been then?

Frustrated and slightly flushed, Ichigo ruffles his hair and gets up, walking to the books brought to him. He shivers a bit as the air in the room was chilly, and quickly picks a few before scooting back under his blankets.

Most of them were boring stuff, school things in other words; books about History, spiritual energy and auras, stuff what he usually had to try and read trough during lessons. Somehow the Shinigami studies managed to be even more boring at times than the basics. Perhaps because you'd much rather learn shit in practice.

Apparently Yoruichi thought having been possessed by a murderous spirit did not excuse him from studying. The ginger almost wanted to snort; the woman and the old man shared the same kind of humor, no wonder they got along so well; both loved messing with people in imaginative ways and annoying them.

Then, Ichigo spotted a smaller, familiar object amongst the textbooks.

Ichigo’s eyes widen as he recognizes the diary.

So Urahara had taken it as well?

Did the man know what it was?

If he did, had he asked Yoruichi specifically to return it to him?

Ichigo frowns and checks the book trough cautiously; everything seemed normal, no pages had been ripped or anything. With a sigh, Ichigo figures he might as well read trough it some more, as he couldn’t ask the blunet right now what that had been exactly, and rest of the books felt boring.

Scrolling trough the text, he soon spots something that kind of peeked his curiosity; it was apparently about the day Kaien’s wife had met her husband’s unusual friend.

Ichigo could recall this being mentioned in one memory he'd seen, but he was curious to hear how the visit had gone given it _actually_ happened, apparently.

 

_”He was rather reluctant to divert from the actual plan his and the two Tres’s' visit was meant to be in our humble town, but I managed to convince him to come and see my house. My wife has been rather curious about this friend I’ve made, thought I feel she perhaps wasn’t quite expecting what she got.”_

 

Ichigo couldn’t stop but snort; he doubted anybody could be prepared properly to face Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez. Also, what did that "two Tres" mean? Ichigo closes his eyes in a frown.

Wait... wasn't there...Grimmjow mentioned something, sometime, about a duo of women that shared a rank...and there had been a female pair portrayed in the murals a lot too, now when he thought back on it.

Perhaps that referred to those women.

 

_”I did not expect it either; I knew poor Miyako is highly sensitive, but I suppose I didn’t consider what kind of effect a powerful soul such as him would have on her. She fainted before she could utter out a word. Grimmjow thought it was rather amusing, he even commented something about his charm. My sister was not impressed, but refrained from berating him; even with all her strength and might, Kuukaku knows it wouldn’t be smart to anger one of the Kings of Hueco Mundo. Knowing Grimmjow though, he probably would not have minded having a bit of a fight with her.”_

 

Ichigo thought back on what he’d heard about Kaien’s sister, and yeah, based on what his memory told him, she sounded like the kind of person Grimmjow would have liked.

Someone that Ichigo would have probably found kinda freaky. 

 

_”In the end, Grimmjow managed to reel in his aura enough so it wasn’t overpowering her. I felt a little bad about the situation, but luckily Miyako was understanding. She was polite to him, and I was almost surprised how decent he was for once. of course he told me off about my expression upon noticing it, reminding me that he was mainly hostile to people who warranted his ire, or as he put it, " **Messing with weaklings ain't that fun, I ain't ~~fucking~~ Nnoitra. Got no reason ta be an ass here so stop actin' so ~~fucking~~ shocked, or I'll change my mind and knock her out again just to piss you off."**_

 

Ichigo couldn't stop but snort; of course Grimmjow would put it in such a crude manner, but the same time, he could somehow tell that Kaien was once again, not bothered by the borderline nasty manner his companion spoke. It was still... a little bizarre as to why these two had become such good friends, despite their seeming opposing personalities; Kaien was often described as level-headed, easy-going and intelligent young man, whereas Grimmjow was, well...Grimmjow.

 Grimmjow was the kind of guy who did _not_ seem like he'd bother meeting someone’s wife like this, let alone adjust his attitude to not be as huge of a prick as usual. The fact he had done so...

The ginger felt a strange pang in his chest.

It was so... _weird_ , how bad he felt for the two, even though he could sort of explain it with all the memories he’d seen so far, and the fact he’d been able to feel the emotions attached to them as well. Maybe this whole hopping in and out of Grimmjow's head was really making him connect with the emotions within these memories too much, to the point that he began to view them as his own, subconsciously.

Perhaps Ukitake had been right to question Grimmjow's influence over him, and be concerned. Ichigo doubted the blunet would be doing this on purpose though. It had to be some weird spiritual mumbo-jumbo he'd accidentally tapped into. 

Ichigo sighs and shakes his head; getting all teary eyed over this felt a little awkward, even if nobody was watching.

 

He notes the next words on the book were from the next morning, apparently there had been a celebration in the town - one of the many festivals they still held even after so many decades - and Kaien had somehow managed to drag his visitor there. Based on the words, it was pretty clear Kaien was suffering from hangover when writing this.

 

_"I should've heeded Miyako's warning, for I might've taken too much last night; my head hurts quite badly, much to his amusement. He's always amused when I'm somehow miserable it seems. My sister says it's rather mean-spirited of him to laugh at my misery, but I know him better than she does; he would not be laughing if my suffering was actually dangerous. He'd be angry at me. He'll never admit it, but he would be."_

 

Ichigo hums, being able to imagine Kaien lying on the bed, something covering his eyes as his head ached, and the blue asshat poking fun at him with that infuriating smirk plastered across his face. He was able to imagine it so vividly it sort of freaked him out a little, and the ginger shakes his head, turning the page.

 

_"I cannot stop but wonder though...he probably thinks I've forgotten the conversation we had, but I haven't. I wasn't drunk enough to forget, and it keeps replaying in my head.  I ended up asking him again if he ever cared about anyone, like I care for my wife. He went quiet for a moment, and I could tell he was irritated by the question. I wasn't surprised, for this was something I had pestered him with before. Finally, he told me the same answer as before; No."_

 

Ichigo had a feeling there was more to it than that, and the next sentence pretty much proved it.

 

_"I believed that to be it, but then he continued, stating that it was not something he **understood.** He was not made that way, so even if he would, he 'wouldn't recognize it for what it was.' _

_That really got me thinking. I remember he watched me and Miyako a lot, often wearing this, one could say, slightly puzzled look on his face. He even asked me why I made *a fool out of myself* around her at times. It **wasn't** an insult, I realize now, it **wasn't** his usual snarky antics. _

_He **genuinely** doesn't understand it, why doing it makes me happy, why it makes her happy; why just being in one another's presence can bring such joy to people. _

_He doesn't understand what being in love means, nor any form of it; Hollows don't have children, they don't raise families. Their friendships are often flavored with the rules of hierarchy; it is a setting where it is hard to form true bonds with anybody._

_His kindred are loners at heart, and Grimmjow is probably one of the **best** examples I could think of. His relationship with his underlings is highly different from the Tres' connections with theirs. I don't think it's even comparable to Barragan-san and his Fraccion. At least there is a clear leader and subordinate bond; the Fraccion respect Barragan-san and he trusts them to do their jobs. _

_I feel...Grimmjow doesn't care about his that much, as in, he doesn't care whenever they follow him or not. They just exist there, providing him company whenever he wants it or not. He doesn't **care** enough to tell them to leave him be. He let's them follow him like they were some sort of ants on his feet he doesn't find annoying enough to step on. They simply don't matter in any way, not in negative or positive manner. _

_I'm starting to understand what my wife meant when she said that his soul felt awfully lonely._

_He's alone even when there are people around him because of his inherent nature as a hollow._

_Perhaps.... this is why he tolerates me so well. I think, or rather, **hope,** that the reason behind our connection is because he finds comfort in my presence, and has begun to comprehend what having someone be close to you means, maybe not consciously, but at least instinctively._

_Perhaps his admission of not understanding love meant that he was indirectly asking **me** if what he felt towards me was the kind of companionship he has been unable to experience with others before. If he'd finally been able to reach something he had not been able to up until now._

_ It's all... quite sad, but understandable; these emotions, love, affection, trust, and loyalty born out of genuine fondness for somebody, hollows don't naturally have use for these traits in their vicious world. All of their loyalties and ties tend to base on power. _

_ (which is why they seem to find Harribel- and Nelliel-San's bond with each other and their subordinates peculiar.) _

_ They are a lot like us, yet also so different." _

 

Ichigo lifts his gaze for a moment, processing the meaningful words he'd just red. It was... it sounded sad. But there was also something that clashed with Kaien's thoughts; Grimmjow had been viciously angry when he'd found his Fraccion, murdered and eviscerated, basically. He DID care about them, Ichigo had felt it himself, in his own brain as it had been a first-person vision.

Had....had the blunet changed somewhat, between what Kaien had written here and that moment? It was highly likely; perhaps their friendship had helped Grimmjow to understand these things better. It made his stomach twist into a tight knot; just...why had Aizen done this to them? None of what he'd red and seen so far gave the man ANY reason to destroy Grimmjow and his companions. They... they seemed to have been more like them, closer to humans than those vicious, snarling creatures that kept attacking them. Say what you will about hollows as a whole, their Kings and Queens had been more than just monsters. This was probably the reason why the alliance had been formed, why the Shinigami had sought help from these beings, asked them to teach how to create their most formidable weapons they wielded even today. Ichigo still didn't know what the reasons behind this alliance had been exactly, but the Shinigami back then HAD to have seen something worthwhile in these rulers, to even think of cooperating with them.

What the hell had made Sousuke Aizen go and slaughter them like animals? Or at least try, given Grimmjow had survived. What had made him think he had the right to do such a thing, what kind of excuse he'd used to justify it? 

 

As he scrolls trough more pages, a chill travels down Ichigo’s spine all of a sudden.

 

He lifts his head to look around, but saw nothing.

He was still alone in the room, illuminated by the glow of the green barrier.

When he turns his attention back to the book, Ichigo realizes for his confusion and slight shock, that the pages were _turning by themselves_ now.

He sits up abruptly and backs away to the other end of the mattress.

There was no breeze in the room that could do this, and his hair was standing to an end, indicating something was... off.

The book stops its strange shuffling for a moment, long enough for Ichigo to inch closer again.

Then, a _ **loud**_ , inhuman shriek echoes in the room, forcing him to cover his ears.

Ichigo watches in shock as the book starts glowing, and a specter starts slowly appearing above it.

The ginger scoots back, until his back hits a wall. The figure was... tall, white aside from the long black hair cascading down it’s back. In fact... It looked like the hollow in that one painting, back in that exhibition about Aizen Sousuke.

 

_Shiro._

 

Ichigo looks around frantic, but it did not seem like anybody was aware of what was going on.

He attempts to call out for Urahara or Yoruichi - or anyone for that matter - but nothing comes out from his throat.

Suddenly, he feels eyes on him, and Ichigo turns to look at the pale figure, who was sort of hunched over slightly, as if it couldn’t stand straight. The hollow-esque eyes were locked on him however.

The long horns attached to the mask made the being look even more terrifying than it already was.

Slowly, the spirit - _was_ it a spirit? It didn’t really feel like a solid hollow to Ichigo, hell, he could still see trough it somewhat - paces towards him, and Ichigo felt blood thundering in his ears.

He was trapped; the barrier kept him from escaping the room, and he was not skilled enough to defuse the wall by himself.

The being reaches for him slowly, and all he could do was stare; it was almost if the being was putting out an aura that paralyzed his body, making him unable to move. It wasn’t the same as with what happened when Grimmjow did it.

This one was more subtle, tickling on his instincts rather than forcefully shoving him aside.

The hollow stops for a moment and just examines him quietly, head tilted to the side in almost owlish fashion. It was freaky and looked like a literal pain in the neck. Ichigo attempts to call for somebody to help him again, but before he could even utter out a peep or a squeak, the thing suddenly moves forward towards him, and the ginger squeezes his eyes shut reflexively, heart beating so fast he worried it would leap out of his chest.

Next thing he knew, he was enveloped in white.

His eyes shot open, and Ichigo realizes abruptly, that the figure was... _hugging_ him?

_What?_

The spirit had knelt in front of him and it’s clawed arms were wrapped around him in what was _definitely_ a hug.

Ichigo now realized the creature was panting, as if remaining visible and solid like this took a lot of effort.

”Wh....”

A whisper then sounded in his ear, it was so quiet one could mistake it for a thought in your own head.

 

_”Take it. Please.”_

 

Ichigo blinks, not understanding what was going on.

Take what?

What was the thing talking about?

What **_was_ ** it in the first place?

 

_”Take this power. You can....save him... stop... them...”_

 

The being’s voice was strained, further indicating that doing whatever it was doing was taking its toll on the spirit.

The cool but surprisingly gentle grasp around him tightens, and the next second, everything flashed white again.

Except, this time Ichigo felt like his whole body was _burning._

His senses were lit ablaze by an immense flow of energy abruptly entering his body, up until all he could feel was fire.

A sudden, loud noise escapes from his throat, and the next second, the barrier around him _**shattered** ,_ as immense burst of energy left his body, shaking the entire house in its foundations.

 

 

 

 

_Grimmjow was huddled up in a corner; he knew the hat guy had taken his zanpakuto back and sealed it somewhere._

_He could tell because he could no longer sense Kurosaki in any way._

_It didn’t matter really. He really didn’t want to talk with the kid right now._

_Grimmjow had always thought that getting to go crazy in reality once again would be thrilling, but all he was left it was a bitter taste of shame in his throat. It was never exactly flattering to know there was a part of you you couldn’t control. In the past he hadn’t cared too much; those who normally witnessed his more berserk moments just admired him more for it._

_Admired, or feared. Hell if he cared which._

_Now his temper tantrum potentially meant he’d likely end up getting killed._

_It made all the sense for the damned Shinigami to destroy his zanpakuto, and him alongside it, after that stunt._

_Grimmjow was not afraid of death, but he hated dying in such a pathetic manner._

_Another thing that bugged him right now, was the fact the kid had entered in his space again, while his mind was using his body to go on a rampage, thus coming face-to-face with his more animalistic state too._

_It had been such a weird experience; he could recall the familiar feeling of needing to rip the kid to shreds for entering his territory - basic instinct stuff, really - but after his berserk-self had managed to trap the fucker against a wall... Something had shifted._

_Grimmjow ruffles his hair frustrated, trying to make sense to what the hell had happened at that moment._

_One second he’d wanted to rip Kurosaki’s limbs off, the next... he wasn’t even sure what it was._

_A tongue flicks over his lips slightly, still able to taste the flavor of the ginger’s blood. It was really fucking weird, but blood didn’t really taste like blood in spiritual realm._

_Probably because it wasn’t actual blood, but more of spiritual essence._

_Grimmjow absolutely loathed the fact he kind of liked the taste._

_Part of him sort of understood what it was; he wasn’t dumb enough to not see he found the ginger bastard attractive, he’d admitted that several times already - just not out loud. He’d never thought it would manifest in such bizarre, and frankly embarrassing behavior in his beastly state._

_The blunet huffs frustrated, rubbing his eyes._

_Suddenly, he felt his surroundings shake again, and he looks up sharply, sensing something powerful wash over him._

_Powerful, and.... familiar?_

_The blunet frowns and pushes himself off the ground._

_He... knew this sensation, he’d felt it before._

_It just... didn’t make sense._

_Another earthquake, and then his world suddenly turned extremely bright, forcing him to cover his eyes. Something tugs on his aura almost forcefully, and Grimmjow realizes abruptly, he could sense Kurosaki again. It was not because the mad hatter had taken his zanpakuto out of the sealed containment._

_A powerful aura had just shattered it, and the feeling flooding his body was achingly familiar, even if it didn't make any sense to be happening right now._

**_What the fuck was going on?_ **

 

 

 

 

Everybody scrambles up after that sudden wave of spiritual pressure, and the group looks around at each other confused.

”What the heck was that?”

Renji questions dumbfounded from Urahara, who was putting his hat back on properly, adjusting his outfit while trying to gather himself. He glances towards what seemed to be the shattered remains of the sealed box, and amidst the wooden pieces was a zanpakuto wrapped in cloth.

His eyes widen slightly; that energy burst had been strong enough to completely shatter his sealed chest.

Not even _Hachigen’s_ strongest spiritual pressure blasts had been able to shatter it, and the man was a **Master** when it came to spirit power attacks.

”That came from downstairs.”

Yoruichi tells Kisuke seriously, and the man scrambles up and heads there, followed by the woman.

”Hey, wait up! Is ichigo okay?”

Renji yells after them, helping dazed Orihime off the floor; the blast had been so intense she’d almost fainted.

The two don’t respond as they hurry towards their quest downstairs. The scene that waited them was bizarre; the barrier was completely shattered, tiny fragments of green slowly dissolving into thin air. The objects in the room were all scattered around, open books, papers, even Urahara’s desk and shelves were knocked over, the stuff on them littering the floor.

Ichigo was standing in the middle, eyes closed, head tilted back slightly as if he was basking in something.

For their worry, the boy was completely white, hair and skin included, which reminded them of the appearance Inoue and Renji had described while they'd tended Rukia.

”Kisuke? What should we do?”

Yoruichi questions the man, who just looks at Kurosaki with a peculiar look on his face. After a moment, the glow vanishes and Ichigo slumps to the ground with a groan, color returning on his body. The tanned woman looks between the boy and her companion, then marches to Ichigo and gently turns him to his back, noting the ginger was unconscious but seemed otherwise unharmed.

”Was this the spirit’s doing?”

For her surprise, Urahara shakes his head.

”No. This was definitely _not_ the zanpakuto’s spirit.”

”Then what the hell was that?” Her golden eyes zero in on Kisuke, as she could tell the damned moron clearly knew what had happened, but refused to share it with her once again. The woman opens her mouth to demand Kisuke to explain to her what the hell was going on, but then Ichigo’s worried friends stumble downstairs, nearly knocking Urahara off his feet.

**_”Ichigo!”_ **

Rukia yells out and rushes to the ginger, and he was soon surrounded by his concerned friends. Yoruichi huffs and takes a step back, then turns to glare at the hat wearing man.

”We’ll talk about this later.”

Urahara gives her a sheepish smile, rubbing his head. It wasn’t like he meant to keep secrets from his best friend slash co-worker, who had every right to know all of this: it was a habit of his to be secretive.

”Let’s bring Kurosaki-san upstairs; he’ll get a cold lying there.”

Rukia looks up at Urahara with a frown.

”Is it...safe? If that blast came from Ichigo...”

Urahara reassures the short woman that things were fine.

Glancing at Renji, the two contemplate on it for a moment, then the redhead hauls his friend off the floor and over his shoulder, helping to carry him upstairs.

”I swear; hanging out with Ichigo is getting weirder and weirder.” The man grumbles as he went.

 

 

 

When Ichigo came to again, he was no longer in the basement room. He was lying on a bed.

”Oh, finally! You need to stop freaking us out like this!”

Pair of slim but firm hands grab his shoulders, and Rukia shakes him with surprising force for her stature, still scolding him loudly.

”Rukia-chan, please he must still be dizzy!” Orihime tells the woman concerned, and Rukia lets go of the ginger, dropping him back to the bed with a plopping sound.

Ichigo’s head did spin, but not as badly compared to all the times it had happened before. In fact, he felt kind of... okay? The ginger brings up his hand and rubs his eyes a bit, then just sort of stares at his limb.

It was so weird, but he felt completely fine.

His head no longer ached and his body was _beaming_ with energy.

”Ichigo?”

He glances at Inoue who was examining him still concerned.

”I’m good. Just...confused as to what the hell just happened.”

”We all are, dumbass.”

Renji informs him, poking him harshly on the forehead.

Ichigo retaliates by throwing his pillow at the redhead, and soon enough the two were having another one of their wrestling matches on the floor, proving that Ichigo indeed seemed to be alright.

”Well...I suppose this is a good sign, although we should still let someone examine you just in case.”

Rukia concludes after smacking both of the boys to make them stop their childish bickering. Ichigo rubs the spot Rukia had hit him on, insisting he was okay.

”Perhaps you feel okay, but that strange burst of spiritual energy still needs explaining.”

Rukia points out, and the room goes quiet for a moment again.

”Maybe...maybe it was him again?”

Inoue asks quietly, looking at Ichigo unsure.

The ginger shakes his head firmly.

”I don’t know _what_ that thing was, but it sure as _hell_ wasn’t Grimmjow.”

Before anyone could ask him to explain what he meant, somebody crashes trough the door, and the group turns to look at the figure who’d just entered in a hurry.

It was Jinta, and he looked rather panicked.

” **Urahara-san!** There’s...Shit, there’s...”

He pants harshly, unable to form his words properly. The aforementioned man frowns and requests the boy to take in a deep breath before speaking. Jinta does just that, then blurts everything out at once.

”Kurosaki’s house was attacked by several hollows! That dumb Isshin wasn’t home, and they took the berry’s sisters!”

Ichigo went completely still, cold sweat running down his spine.

Then, he stood up and sprinted out of the door, still wearing his hospital clothing.

He ignored the voices yelling after him as he rushed towards his house, heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

 

 

Once Ichigo reached his house, it was clear something bad had happened; the front door was torn off it’s hinges, and there was a hole on the roof.

Isshin was standing outside, face in a deep frown with his arms crossed.

Ichigo had not seen his father this serious in ages, and it just showed how worried he was right now.

Some other Shinigami were around there as well, such as the baldie and Yumichika.

When Ichigo arrived, all eyes turned on him.

”Ichigo, why are you up and about? Urahara said you’d be staying in his place to recover.” Isshin questions him, though he already knew the answer he’d receive.

”Jinta just ran trough the goddamn front door to tell us that my sisters, that they...”

Ichigo chokes on his own words, unable to say this out loud.

”This was indeed an unusual case; nobody noticed anything, not until the hollows were already escaping. By the time we reached the area, the portal was already closing.”

Yumichka explains, a clear apology in his voice, and his face was twisted into a displeased, concerned frown.

”Those damn fuckers! Sneaking in an’ snatching poor innocent lil’ kids fer food!”

Ikkaku declares, swinging his blade around in frustration, almost cutting Isshin with it accidentally.

”That is not the most unusual part of this situation, while it is strange for such a large group of them to come and kidnap two kids, instead of one or two coming by to devour them.”

Ichigo turns his attention back to Yumichika, who was holding his chin thoughtfully.

”Why are you just standing there!? We should be heading out to Hueco Mundo right now to rescue them, before its too late!” Ichigo nearly spats at them, and the fancy eyelashes holds his hands up defensively.

”That is why we requested Jinta - he was apparently visiting your sister when this happened, and got thrown about by the hollows - to go and get his master. Only Urahara can open portals to Hueco Mundo.”

As if on cue, the hat wearing man appears to the scene alongside rest of the group.

Inoue’s eyes widen as she sees the devastation, and she covers her mouth in shock.

”What on earth happened here?”

Rukia questions them, her expression equally disturbed. Upon hearing the details, she follows Ichigo’s example and demands them to stop standing around and do something.

 

 

Everything just turns into noise around him, and Ichigo felt his hands shake.

He had to get there, he had to save them.

But... setting up a portal always took time, what if they’d come too late?

_What if his sisters were already...._

Suddenly, he hears something within his head, a quiet whisper.

It was trying to tell him something.

Ichigo turns slowly, as if in trance, and sprints back towards Urahara’s house, much to everyone’s confusion.

He ignores the voices calling after him once again, running across the street back to where he came from, almost like something else was controlling his body. Except, that wasn't the case; there was no pressure in his mind forcing him to do their bidding, only silent, barely audible echoes.

Once he reaches the house again and steps in, Ichigo looks around, not quite sure what he was doing or why.

All he knew was that this slight whisper at the back of his head was urging him to do something, something that could help.

The ginger had no clue what that voice was, nor why he seemed to trust it, but he did. Soon, Ichigo spots something on the ground; Grimmjow’s zanpakuto.

It was lying amidst of wooden shrapnel, indicating something had actually destroyed the thing it had been kept in.

Cautiously, he approaches it and picks it up.

For a moment he just sort of stood there, not knowing what he was trying to do.

 ”...My sisters were kidnapped. I need to...I need to get to Hueco Mundo.” Ichigo speaks after a moment of silence, unsure if the spirit was listening or not.

”Please. You’re...you’re a hollow, so you can open a portal with ease, right? Urahara’s device will take too long.”

He was near begging now, not sure why he did so; perhaps part of him figured Grimmjow would not really want to go back, given he’d been trapped there for so long. Perhaps because the man likely didn't want anything to do with him right now, after what had just happened earlier. 

 

Nothing. Ichigo cannot hear anything from the blade, but he could tell the spirit was there; unlike before, he could sense Grimmjow's aura clearly.

"Please. I don't have much time; they could be eaten at any second now! I...if you want me to leave your zanpakuto behind, I will. I can just grab one of the normal blades Urahara has here."

Still nothing.

Then, a faint voice in his head, telling him to lift the weapon and ... cut the air?

Ichigo does so, and for his slight shock, a spiritual wave leaves the tip of the blade, pretty much cutting trough thin air and opening a black hole into it, similar to the portals Urahara would make, only smaller.

 

”Thank you.”

 

Ichigo quickly grabs the folded black clothing - Renji's Shinigami outfit as his was still at home - and switches it on, grabbing a practice blade.

That's when he hears the echo again, and Ichigo turns his gaze back at the blue zanpakuto he'd put on the table.

He did not know why, but... somebody, or something, was urging him to take it with him. 

After a moment of hesitation, the ginger grabs it too, and looks up at the portal, swallowing down nervously. What he was doing was undoubtedly reckless, but he had to act NOW if he wanted to ever see his siblings alive ever again. 

It was fine; he'd been to Hueco Mundo before, he'd defeated several of those things in the past.

he could do this.

With a deep breath, Ichigo jumps into the portal, not noticing the pale specter watching after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the beginning of this chapter was originally a part of the previous one (hence I could post this so quickly after the last one) but I wanted to keep the chapter length more consistent, so I added it to this one instead.  
> ...Apparently I've made some people ship Kaien and Grimm now.  
> Whoops.  
> I'm gonna make this clear (try anyway): The thing between them was never romantic, no matter how much it might come off as that at some point. It's purely a bromance thing, I swear.
> 
> .... I mean, Kaien miiiiiiight have a bit of a bro-crush on Grimm, but that's ALL it is. He has a wife and all and he's loyal darn it!
> 
> Grimmjow still sees him as that annoying, overly curious Shinigami stalker of his ;)


	15. Glimpses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renji and Rukia venture to Hueco Mundo to go after their reckless dumbass friend and end up meeting some surprising folk.  
> Ichigo is seeing things

The two girls were curled up in a corner, at the bottom of a rather deep pit with a single light source coming from above.

Both were dirty, had small scrapes on them and were absolutely exhausted, and not just from struggling against the creatures that had taken them.

Yuzu _especially_ felt overwhelmed by the intense spiritual pressure around them, and was cuddled up against Karin, shuddering and sobbing her eyes out. It was a miracle her nose wasn’t bleeding yet.

It all had happened so suddenly; their old man had left the house briefly to run an errand, when those things had abruptly busted in their house and taken them. Karin could not recall too much about the chaos around them, but she could remember the big monster they’d been brought to. The thing scared her even more than any of the other, weirdly shaped creatures.

She could tell he was _much_ more powerful than any other hollow around them.

The fact the rest had cowered in fear in his presence was further proof of that.

She had no clue why those things hadn’t just eaten them, but she had a bad feeling this related to their brother.

With all the weird and scary shit happening around him lately, this had to be about Ichigo.

Yuzu made out a wailing noise, and Karin hugs her tighter, trying to soothe the frightened girl.

”Don’t worry, Ichi-nii and his friends will come and save us.”

”B-but...that big one said they want Ichi-nii to come. It’s a trap, isn’t it?”

She sniffles, wiping her eyes. Karin bit her lip, having nothing to offer to that; she’d heard it too, and was immensely worried now. Especially given she knew that damn stupid fool would just rush into action without thinking.

Still though...

”Ichi-nii is tough; whatever these things are planning, he’ll kick their butts!”

Yuzu looks at her for a moment, then sniffs, wiping her eyes, spreading the dust and soot across her cheeks as she did so. She looked absolutely awful, but there wasn't much Karin could do for her, aside from trying to keep her spirits up. She was no Shinigami, she had no way to fight these things.

”I...you’re right.”

Karin certainly hoped so.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time They’d arrived back at Urahara’s house, Ichigo was nowhere to be seen, and Renji noticed his Shinigami robes were gone too.

”That reckless bastard! Where did he run off to now?!”

Renji huffs out frustrated, not exactly happy to be stuck on the light yellow night robe Urahara had provided him. It looked ridiculous.

”Could he have...”

Inoue mumbles out, worry twisting her stomach to several knots.

”There’s no way; you’d need Urahara’s device to open a portal, and only he knows how to run it.”

Rukia points out as she could guess what Inoue was thinking, and the raven haired woman turns her attention to the man who was examining the house and the mess on the floor, what seemed to be remains of a wooden chest. Rukia recognized it as the same chest where Urahara had places the blue zanpakuto in earlier.

Finally, the man sighs and turns to them with a serious look.

”It seems... he might have found a way to go there.”

His words stun the trio silent, and even Yoruichi lifts eyebrow at that.

”That reckless moron! We need to get the portal running as soon as possible and go after him!”

Rukia demands, frustrated frown marring her features.

_Why_ did Ichigo have to be this reckless constantly?

”It will take some time, Kuchiki-san; creating portals is not an easy task to perform.” The man reminds her calmly, and the girl gives him a glare, telling him she was aware of it.

”How did the kid do it, if he did go to Hueco Mundo?”

Yoruichi suddenly asks, leveling a glare at Kisuke. The man takes a step back and rubs his head with a sheepish smile, figuring that she was still waiting for an explanation on what had happened earlier.

”Yeah, how the hell did Ichigo pull something like that off? Are you even sure it happened? We were gone for only like a minute!” Renji questions the man as well, and now all eyes were on Urahara, who wondered how much he could reveal to the three youngsters.

He would tell Yoruichi everything about that other spirit, as it was not like he had a reason not to given they _both_ worked on the intelligence branch, but when it came to the other three...

”Its...that spirit that has been stalking Ichigo, right? You said yesterday that... that its a hollow or so...”

Ah, of course Inoue would connect the dots, she was more intuitive than people gave her credit for due to her ditsy behavior.

Except, Urahara had a feeling she was not correct with her assumption this time;he’d sensed a certain familiar thing in his house moments before they’d arrived.

This was a spirit, but not the spirit she was thinking of.

”Kisuke. If you know more about the situation, you oughta tell ’em more, even if they aren't part of our agency. This business doesn’t usually belong those outside the intelligence branch, but...”

”...This topic doesn’t technically belong to the intelligence branch either as Ukitake-san reminded me, and at this point they might be too involved already, I am aware of it.”

The man sighs, finishing Yoruichi’s sentence.

He then asks Jinta to go and inform Tessai - the man was currently at the HQ on an errand, so he’d missed this whole situation - to come back so they can prepare the portal.

 The red haired boy nods and quickly hurries off, almost stumbling on his feet.

Inoue couldn’t stop but smile a little at the boy’s determination to help; for the longest time he’d had a crush on Ichigo’s sister Yuzu, and Jinta had to be extremely anxious and frustrated right now, being unable to do much himself.

”Are you up for a rescue mission Kuchiki-san? I know Inoue’s remarkable abilities have healed you, but it has only been two days since.”

Rukia frowns, and tells the man she was always ready to go and drag Ichigo’s sorry ass home even if she would be missing a limb.

Her determination clearly amused Urahara, though he still told her to not push herself over the edge and make sure she was up for this.

”I’d still need an uniform; that damn berry stole mine, and I’m not gonna go and fight hollows in a fucking _banana_ pajamas!”

Renji declares, gesturing to his yellow outfit.

”Why, it suits you.”

Yoruichi comments with a snicker, which turns into a full-blown laughter as the redhead glares at her with a flushed face.

**_”Shaddup!”_ **

”Yoruichi-san, mind to keep an eye out for Jinta and Tessai-san? I shall prepare our rescue party.”

The woman nods and heads back outside.

”Uhm... maybe we should enlist help from other Shinigami too?”

Inoue questions after a moment, and both Rukia and Renji had to agree it was a good idea.

”I don’t think we have much time to wait on anyone else get here, given most of those who have experience of traveling to Hueco Mundo are busy at the moment given the investigation at Kurosaki-estate, but I suppose we can send some backup for you later on.”

Urahara comments as he heads towards the storage room, getting the team supplies they’d likely need. Inoue did not really like the idea of Rukia and Renji going alone, but she understood what the man meant; aside from those two and Ichigo, not many Shinigami had ventured to the hollow territory, as it was very rarely needed. The spiritual pressure in that dimension was near overwhelming to most, and the only people so far who had managed to handle a trip there aside from the aforementioned trio, were Yumichika, Ikkaku and likely Urahara himself. 

Sending inexperienced Shinigamis out there could be risky, as you could not know beforehand how one would react. Your Spiritual sensitivity was not directly linked to your level of power. You could be crazy strong like Kenpachi, but if you were too sensitive, your power would mean nothing as your senses became overwhelmed.

....Perhaps kenpachi wasn't the best example, Inoue was fairly certain that monster could survive _anywhere._

 

 

Once Tessai arrives, he heads downstairs instantly to help prepare the portal.

”Why would those hollows kidnap Ichigo’s sisters, I still don’t get that; if they wanted to have a snack, they could’ve just eaten them there.”

Renji mutters out while stuffing his supply bag, and Rukia had to agree. It felt strange, and she had a bad feeling about all of this.

Once they were ready, the two head downstairs as well, followed by Inoue; she could not go with them due to her high-sensitivity, but was willing to wait there in case they came back in dire need of medical attention.

”Once we come back, you **better** tell us what on earth is going on.”

Rukia levels a stern glare at Urahara, who just nods, expression unreadable.

The machine begins its usual whirling sounds, and moments later, a large crack appears in front of them.

”Be careful you two; who knows in what state Kurosaki is in right now, given what just recently happened.”

Yoruichi warns them with a serious frown on her face, arms crossed over the ample chest. When she got serious, you knew things had to be dire. The two just nod and jump into the portal, mentally preparing themselves for whatever lied ahead. Hopefully, if they'd need backup, it would show up soon enough.

Knowing their luck though, it wasn't likely.

 

 

 

_The sky was dark above him, as it usually was in Hueco Mundo._

__

 

__

_He was resting on the sand, blood sticking to his body, some caked under his fingernails._

__

_The sand around him was also stained with it._

__

_His brain was hazy as it usually would be, after what just happened._

__

_The blunet tries to move, but his body refuses to cooperate, so he just keeps staring at the skies. A distant voice called to him, and Grimmjow turns his head slightly, seeing a figure sort of stagger towards him._

__

_Pieces of a white mask crumbled to the ground, revealing a disgusting, snotty faced Shinigami underneath, who looked about ready to bawl his eyes out._

__

**_”Grimmjow!”_ **

__

_He sounded so fucking guilty, it was hilariously stupid. The blunet says nothing of his thoughts however as the coal haired dumbass slumps to kneel beside him, his entire body shaky from both weeping and the strain he went trough just now._

__

_”Gods I..I...”_

__

_”If ya try ta apologize, I’ll punch your face in once I can move again.”_

__

_Grimmjow tells him matter-of-factly, making the Shinigami shut up for once in his life, before a shaky laugh escapes his mouth._

__

_”I thought...I thought I...”_

__

_”Please. Even when usin’ THAT, ya ain’t strong enough ta off me.”_

__

_The blunet manages to snort, then flinches as it actually made his head hurt like a bitch._

__

_Kaien says nothing, just slumps his posture even further, taking in some deep breaths to not actually start bawling his eyes out._

__

_”The fuck are ya crying about? M’ fine.”_

__

_Kaien lets out another shaky laugh, then lifts his gaze as another figure appears beside them; Nelliel-san. She was looking down at the bloodied, injured blunet with a worried and scolding frown._

__

_”You should not use that, Grimmjow; you keep losing control with it.”_

__

_She tells him almost softly, making the man roll his eyes at her. Nel and her fucking mother-hen attitude._

__

_”So I shoulda have let that thing eat our dumbass Shinigami fucker over here?”_

__

_The blunet grunts, nodding at Kaien, who as looking at him with a strange expression. Yeah, perhaps going into THAT mode was a bit too much when dealing with a Menos, but this particular one had been tougher than usual, one that was almost ready to evolve to the next stage. Plus, he’d been having a bad day anyway, so going too far had been kind of inevitable._

__

_”Grimmjow, I know you care about him - even if you’ll never admit it - but going into Second Release recklessly like this...”_

__

_Nelliel pauses, looking at them both with a surprisingly stern stare, almost like a mother scolding her children._

__

_”You’ll not only endanger those around you, but Kaien might transform too now that you two share power - just like what just happened - and may not be able to control it that well - again, just like what just happened. Be glad he didn’t manage to kill you.”_

__

_The blunet remains quiet, just gazing at the cold sky above._

__

_His head was buzzing and he began to feel a little sleepy._

__

_Shit that fight had taken out a lot of power from him, hadn’t it?_

__

_”We should bring him to the Palace medic bay. Can you help carrying him, Kaien-san?”_

__

_The coal haired Shinigami nods after a moment, and moves to haul Grimmjow off the ground. It’s pretty hard given how heavy he was, but the raven haired male eventually manages to get his upper body off the ground, trying to be as careful as possible to not bother his injuries. Grimmjow didn’t exactly care; his body hurt like hell, but he found the aching a minor inconvenience._

__

_Suddenly, Kaien shifts his arms and the next thing he knew, the Shinigami had wrapped them around him._

__

_In a hug._

__

_The fucker was **hugging** him, leaving a snotty stain on his shoulder._

__

_Normally Grimmjow would have smacked anyone who got this close without his permission, but he was still too dizzy to really do anything, and felt more shocked than repulsed._

__

_”....The hell are you doing?”_

__

_Kaien doesn’t respond, other than the gross sniffling sound, as he tightens his grip around the blunet._

__

_He’d been unable to hold back his sobbing after all; apparently almost killing your perceived friend by accident was a big deal to a Shinigami._

__

_Nelliel watches the two quietly, and she could see the confusion and urge to run from the blunet’s eyes. He really had no clue how to deal with somebody caring about him this much. So he just sat there, waiting for Kaien to gather himself again._

__

_Eventually he does, pulling away and wiping his face, giving him another one of those dumbass smiles, though it wasn’t as wide as usual._

__

_He gets up and hauls Grimmjow’s arm over his shoulder while Nelliel takes the other; the blunet says nothing about being helped for once, as he was starting to lose consciousness again._

__

_He did register the last words from Kaien before his world went black again however._

__

_”I’ll let you punch me in the face once you’re better.”_

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

Ichigo’s eyes snapped open, and he looked around, holding his head.

__

For some reason, he’d lost consciousness sometime during his passage trough the portal.

__

Perhaps it had something to do with how it was made?

__

Also... he could’ve sworn he’d had another vision just now, but the ginger couldn’t recall it at all.

__

Ichigo shakes his head and gets up slowly. As he looks around, the ginger realizes he was inside the palace, in the room he, Rukia and Renji had had their lunch-break during that investigation trip. Somehow the portal had brought him to a place he already knew. It was a good thing the ginger supposed, and he pushes himself off the floor cautiously.

__

Now that he was here however, Ichigo actually didn’t know what to do; he had no idea where those bastards would be keeping Yuzu or Karin.

__

Hueco Mundo was a _vast_ place, he had no clue where to even start his search.

__

Trying to find their relatively weak spiritual auras amidst the dense energy of this dimension was a near impossible task as well.

__

”Great. I should’ve probably thought this trough more.”

__

Ichigo mutters, brushing trough his hair with a frustrated sigh. He could almost hear Rukia nag at him in his mind for jumping into action head-first, and Renji giving him that "no shit" look.

__

Suddenly, he heard a noise from somewhere within the palace.

__

His hand lands automatically on the hilt of the sword on his waist - the blue one instead of the training sword - and he look around cautiously, his senses keen for any potential attack.

__

Ichigo steps into the corridor, keeping an eye out for any potential threats, but so far he saw nothing.

__

There was a nagging feeling at the back of his head however, that _something_ was watching him.

__

Something that wasn’t Grimmjow.

__

A movement at the corner of his eye catches his attention, and Ichigo spins around in the darkness, but could not see anything behind him. Once he turns back however, the ginger spots something far ahead; a pale white light. He frowns, and takes a step closer. The illuminated figure turns and disappears, but Ichigo had a feeling he should follow it.

__

The ginger sprints after the mysterious glow, and as he reaches the spot it had stood on, the thing had moved further away, standing near the crossing for another corridor. Ichigo heads there, and once again, the figure moves further away.

__

He felt that the being was clearly _leading_ him somewhere, and Ichigo had no clue just why exactly he was following its lead.

__

There was just this feeling at the back of his head that he should do so, a weird, instinctual sensation. It was like that whisper all over again, the same whisper that had told him to head back to Urahara’s house and ask for Grimmjow’s help to get to Hueco Mundo.

__

Ichigo follows the glowing specter through several corridors, half-destroyed rooms, even passing by the throne room, up until he reaches a half-open door that seemed to lead somewhere downstairs.

__

The figure disappears inside trough the small opening, and Ichigo pases closer, suddenly uncertain about following it.

__

He could sense something coming from that doorway; it reminded him of the unpleasant aura coating the room Grimmjow’s zanpakuto had been in.

__

He looks up, noting there was writing above the door.

__

Ichigo abruptly realized that he knew what those words meant. While he had learned some words of the hollow-tongue trough the diary, there was no way it made sense for him to be able to read that, but he could.

__

 

__

_Dungeon_

__

 

__

 

__

Why did their palace have one?

__

Ichigo couldn’t imagine the Hollow royals to keep prisoners, given how their kindred usually worked. What use there was for a dungeon?

__

”Why is there a prison in your palace?”

__

Ichigo mutters out loud, but he gains no response.

__

It was honestly a little strange how Grimmjow was not responding to him; sure, he might have been iffy still after what had happened, but something about this particular silence felt...off.

__

He could feel the man’s energy emitting from the blade, easier than ever before, but otherwise he’d gone dead silent.

__

It was almost worrying.

__

Gulping down hardly, Ichigo walks to the door and manages to slip trough the small crack, noting that the stairs descended deep downstairs.

__

It made sense; dungeons were usually in the basement. Ichigo checks trough his bag and brings out one of those light devices, and uses his spiritual energy to activate it. Soon the staircase was illuminated in a faint orange glow.

__

For his surprise though, the light coming from his aura had a hint of blue on the edges.

__

Was Grimmjow sharing his energy with him again without telling him?

__

It didn’t really _feel_ like it.

__

Ichigo shakes his head, knowing he didn’t have time to ponder this right now, he had to go find his sisters and fast, and something told him, that specter was trying to lead him to them.

__

He wasn’t sure why, but Ichigo had a hunch the white glowing figure was the same one that had appeared before him earlier.

__

Despite the terrifying appearance, the ghost had felt friendly back then.

__

It had literally _hugged_ him after all.

__

Ichigo still wondered just what or who it was, and why did he seemingly trusted the spirit.

__

Glancing behind him once, the ginger starts descending the stairs, keeping one hand on the zanpakuto hilt just in case.

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

_He was floating._

__

_Everything around him was completely white, almost if that burst of energy from earlier had somehow erased the mind-scape he was usually stuck in. He could feel the kid’s presence, but it was a distant one. ........_

__

 

__

_He felt drowsy as fuck for some reason._

__

_Somewhere in the distance, Grimmjow could hear growling._

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

_”Dreamwalking? The fuck is that?”_

__

_Kaien smiles at him sheepishly, turning Grimmjow’s irritation up a notch._

__

_”It’s...fairly rare phenomena even for us. Apparently two matching souls are able to sort of share their auras and thus, thoughts, memories or power trough this special link. We call it that given one can literally peak into another’s head.”_

__

_”Sounds real shitty to me. It’s like yer tryin’ ta invade my brain.”_

__

_Kaien lets out a small laugh, and barely manages to dodge the kick aimed at him by ducking under Grimmjow’s foot._

__

_”I swear I did not do it on purpose! It just... happened. I didn’t intend to steal your power.”_

__

_”Yeah, right. The whole reason ya fuckers came ta us was to learn how ta do shit like us.”_

__

_Grimmjow reminds him, nodding at the zanpakuto on Kaien’s belt._

__

_The coal haired Shinigami straightens himself and glances at the offending weapon, smile never fading from his lips._

__

_”I suppose you have a point. Still though; you don’t need to be alarmed about that; likely I cannot use much of your energy either way, given how different it is from mine.”_

__

_”Didn’t ya just say that ’matching souls’ can do it or whatever?”_

__

_The blunet realizes far too late how his words could be taken as, and aims another kick at the now smirking Shinigami, who dodges it this time by jumping aside._

__

_This fucking guy, Grimmjow swore he’d knock out all of his teeth someday._

__

_”While souls may match to some level, it doesn’t mean perfect combination; our auras do resonate according to Captain Hirako, but not perfectly.”_

__

_”That dumbass weird-face with overly toothy grin like Nnoitra's actually gets this kind of shit?”_

__

_Kaien lets out a snicker, looking at the blunet so fondly Grimmjow almost wanted to try and **actually** land a kick on him now._

__

_That look always made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t really know why._

__

_”He is smarter than he looks.”_

__

_”And yer even dumber than you appear at first glance, which is sayin’ **a lot.** ”_

__

_Kaien rolls his eyes at him, still amused._

__

_”Seriously though; if yer gonna borrow my power again, fuckin’ warn me beforehand. That was weird as fuck.”_

__

_Grimmjow snorts at him, cracking his neck as he turns his gaze aside, fully aware he hadn’t outright told the bastard to not do it._

__

_Kaien watches him quietly for a moment, then smiles widely, telling him to keep that in mind._

__

 

__

 

__

_............._

__

~~_Why am I seeing this now?_ ~~

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

Ichigo finally reached the bottom, noting he had entered a much larger corridor; the ceiling was almost as high as in the throne room.

__

Pacing across the hallway, his steps echoed from the walls, further adding to the eerie atmosphere.

__

Once he reaches the end, Ichigo steps into a larger open area, which was clearly a cave of some sort.

__

He notices there were old chains attached to the walls, and despite their age, he could feel the unpleasant energy coming off from them. Those things were specifically designed to trap hollows, perhaps even highly powerful ones. Some were large enough to even trap one of those giant sized menos.

__

”Why would they need such a thing?”

__

Ichigo muses to himself, still not quite understanding his surroundings.

__

While he had seen Grimmjow fight against a large menos in one memory, that thing had clearly been just a mindless beast, and their plan - according to that green haired woman - had been to just guide it away from the palace, up until the blunet eviscerated it.

__

What use did this dungeon have if they usually just either disposed or scared away the troublesome hollows?

__

A chill traveled down his spine, and Ichigo glances aside, spotting that specter standing near another opening on the cave walls, leading somewhere else.

__

It was partially covered by fallen rocks, so that entrance could have been easy to miss.

__

Ichigo swallows down nervously and inches towards the spot, the figure evaporating again once he reached it. Pushing aside some of the rubble, Ichigo noted that this pathway seemed to be more recent; there were now stairs, but rather it had been carved trough the stone roughly, creating a slight slope downwards.

__

He could sense a presence, multiple even, somewhere down there.

__

A large group of hollows was hiding in this hole it seemed, and so far none of them had noticed him, which was probably a good thing.

__

Ichigo pauses, contemplating on whenever he should just go ahead, or form a better plan on how to proceed. A voice from ahead stops this planning altogether however, as he hears a familiar yell; it was Karin.

__

Ichigo’s blood starts pumping faster, and he sprints down the uneven corridor, readying himself for battle.

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

Locating Ichigo turned out to be tougher than they expected; normally his spiritual pressure was easy to spot, even in Hueco Mundo’s dense atmosphere, but for some reason neither of them cold pick it up now, not even the scanner Urahara had provided for the two helped.

__

”It’s like something is causing interference...” Rukia hums, noting the static on the screen of the device.

__

Renji says nothing to that, trusting more on his own gut rather than some random thing the hat sandal man gave them. Urahara’s devices could have some hidden unpleasant surprises in them based on his experience. Stuff that could result in you being naked, or having your clothes to be switched into something ridiculous, like that ugly banana pajamas.

__

”Ditch that piece of junk; we must just be too far away to really sense him.”

__

Rukia says nothing, but puts the scanner away and looks at the landscape surrounding them.

__

They were nearby the palace by the mountainside, given it was a rather easy spot to send them to, plus it provided potential cover in case they had to retreat, since most hollows seemed to avoid it.

__

As the woman gazes at the large structure above them, she could not stop but wonder.

__

”That blade... Ichigo found it from there.”

__

”Yeah, he did. Given all the shit that has been happening, I _seriously_ doubt that thing belonged to a Shinigami.”

__

Renji comments, his voice thoughtful despite the choice of words.

__

Indeed, as Rukia recounted the events on her head so far, it felt more likely that mystery blade had belonged to someone IN Hueco Mundo. If that was so however, why did it remind their Zanpakutos so much? If it was similar, where was the owner?

__

Given the spirit inside was active, it _had_ to mean the owner was alive.

__

If they were, who they were and were they friend or foe?

__

The short woman felt a little frustrated, as she had a feeling both Urahara and Ichigo already had answers to those questions, but neither had shared them yet; Urahara had refused to explain anything before they got Ichigo and his sisters back home.

__

”I will make that man tell us everything he knows once we find Ichigo and his siblings.”

__

”You already told him that.”

__

”I know, but I feel I must do it now more than ever; we as his friends deserve to know why Ichigo has been targeted so much lately because of that zanpakuto.”

__

Renji just nods, agreeing with her full-heartedly.

__

Suddenly, a sound catches their attention, and the two Shinigami grab their weapons, scanning the vast landscape around them. There was a dust cloud further away, that was heading towards them. Hueco Mundo did have occasional sandstorms, but this was too small to be caused by a natural occurrence.

__

”A hollow?”

__

Rukia muses out with a frown, and Renji readies himself for a fight that seemed to be ahead of them.

__

However, there was something... odd about that figure heading their way. It felt unusually weak, even when comparing to the low-level ones. Not to mention, it was small, and seemed to be running away from something.

__

As the figure comes closer, the two abruptly realize that the thing running towards them was...a child?

__

She was being followed by two other hollows, both relatively weak when it came to their auras, but still clearly more powerful than the child.

__

”We gotta help the kid before she gets eaten!”

__

Renji exclaims, readying his blade.

__

That’s when the two realize that the little figure was _not_ in fact running away from the other two, but rather _all three_ were running from a giant, bull-shaped hollow.

__

The two Shinigami watch baffled as the group sprints past them screaming and wailing their arms, then start run around in circles around them while the bigger hollow kept chasing the trio.

__

A large, swirling storm of sand is kicked up into the air, forcing Rukia and Renji to cover their eyes briefly to not get the grains stuck in their eyeballs.

__

Then, the tiny figure leading the bizarre group seems to trip, and all three land on the ground in a heap, skidding to a halt right at Rukia’s feet. The woman just stares down at them baffled, not knowing how to react.

__

Her attention is soon directed to the large, bull-like hollow huffing at them however, and she brings up her blade for defense; she noted her stance was a bit shaky, indicating she may not have been fully healed yet from earlier ordeal, which was honestly to be expected. Inoue could make her wound disappear, but the exhaustion was a whole other ballgame.

__

_”Howl, Zabimaru!”_

__

Luckily the woman didn’t have to bother using up her energy, as a second later Renji’s sword hurls past her, striking the hollow and forcing it back with a pained howl, spreading blood to the sand.

__

”I got this one!”

__

The redhead declares and attacks the hollow again with his extending blade, forcing the creature to back down even further from its prey. Being a relatively weak one, the bull is soon forced to flee the scene, and Renji summons his zanpakuto back, morphing it into its normal state.

__

Normally Rukia would have felt a little miffed about Renji stepping in when she could handle herself, but this was one of those rare cases where the woman felt she might have needed the help, given how dizzy she felt at the moment.

__

”Are you sure you coming here was a good idea?”

__

Renji asks from her worried, noticing that Rukia had gone few shades paler than normal over the course of their stay so far.

__

”I’m fine.”

__

Rukia responds after taking in a deep breath and straightening herself.

__

 

__

 

__

”Thank yuu, dat big guy almost ate us!”

__

A young, childish voice catches their attention, and the duo turn to look at the green haired little girl who was sitting on the sand, picking her nose.

__

She gave them a wide toothy grin, and the two cannot stop but stare at her.

__

She looked like any human child covered in an over sized green robe or a shirt, except she had a skull-like mask on her head.

__

Her aura was that of a hollow’s too, however weak it was.

__

The two others were also dusting themselves off now, and they managed to look even more bizarre than the tiny child; one had a giant head, while the other had an insect like mask. As they turn to look at them, the two let out a loud, sudden, dramatic yelp and point at the two, as if spooked.

__

” _S-s-shinigamis!_ There’s Shinigamis in Hueco Mundo again?!”

__

The smaller one exclaims, his voice highly panicked and almost comically high-pitched at the moment.

__

Then, he glances at the girl who was still just sitting there, picking her nose and now looking at him confused.

__

”Whaddaya mean Pesche?”

__

The aforementioned hollow snatches her off the ground, and they quickly hide behind a boulder, while the skinny male points at them accusingly. He tried to sound determined, but it was clear this one was scared, given how badly his legs trembled.

__

” _Begone_ you fiends! We shall not let you harm Lady Nelliel!”

__

The two just glance at each other, then back at the _clearly_ non-threatening hollow trying to look threatening.

__

”But Pesche, I’m not a ladeh; I’m a girl.”

__

The green haired kid protests, and the skinny figure spins around, trying to explain his choice of words to the child.

__

”...What is....going on?”

__

Renji manages to ask, just staring at the group now bickering over the little girl not wanting to be called a lady.

__

”I don’t know. I’ve never seen hollows like this.” Rukia responds, equally puzzled by the situation.

__

”...Are they even hollows? I mean, the big-face looks freaky, but none of them are scary. And a child? Never seen a hollow that small and human shaped.”

__

Rukia had to agree with Renji; this was really bizarre. After a moment of watching them bicker, the short woman coughs, gaining their attention.

__

”Ahem....may I ask why you were being chased by that larger hollow?”

__

She honestly had _no_ idea how to begin, and what to ask first.

__

The two bigger ones eye her suspiciously, though Rukia could tell they were scared of her and Renji, which was kind of strange. She honestly had no interest or reason to try and harm them so far, and neither did Renji. They may have been hollows, but it was clear they weren’t like any of those the two had faced so far. None of these three seemed particularly dangerous, just a little bizarre.

__

”Oh, I fell on him and de big bully got mad!”

__

The child declares happily with a giggle, gaining a disapproving, panicked babble from the skinny one.

__

” _That was not fun_ Nelliel-san! We thought we were going to be eaten!”

__

”But dat chase was fun!” The kid protests.

__

_”No it was not!”_

__

Before another argument could break out, Rukia coughs again, making them turn silent and eye her warily as she steps closer.

__

The woman keeps her pose as none-threatening as possible, keeping her blade sheathed.

__

”My name is Rukia Kuchiki, and this is my partner Renji. We came here to look for someone.”

__

The two adult hollows blink and look at each other, as if not expecting to receive such a polite introduction.

__

”Well, uh... _ahem!_ ”

__

The skinny one straightens his back, bringing one arm behind his back in sort of a formal pose. It looked kind of funny given how silly his appearance was.

__

”I am Pesche Guatische, The Guardian and Subordinate of Lady Nelliel, the first Queen of Solidarity and Sacrifice.”

__

The two shinigami blink, not knowing what to make of that statement.

__

”Pesche, that was supposed ta be a seeecret!” The big guy comments.

__

As if realizing the truth of his companion’s words just now, Pesche’s eyes widen and he starts panicking flailing his arms about in shock. They watch the show for a moment, up until Rukia brings her hand up awkwardly, informing she had no idea what he was talking about.

__

Pesche stops his manic hyperactivity like he hit a brick wall, staring at the raven haired woman in shock.

__

”You don’t...How does a Shinigami _not_ know about the name of their former allies!?”

__

The two are taken aback by this admission, and for a moment everyone just stood there in silence.

__

”....I...this alliance you are referring to happened centuries ago; none of our current generation has any knowledge of it, apart from the friend we are trying to locate.”

__

Rukia tells them calmly, feeling a little bad upon seeing the genuine shock and hurt in their faces. It was bizarre, but these three did not feel anything like most hollows she knew of; there was nothing terrifying, vile or animalistic about them. They felt more humane than some humans she knew, which was a bizarre thought on top of everything else that was strange at the moment.

__

”By the name of the Espada, they have hidden all of it from their children!”

__

Pesche declares loudly after a moment, sounding genuinely distressed.

__

”Nooo, why woulda they do dat?! Dat’s ruuuude!”

__

His big companion joins in, and for a moment they flail around again, and it began to feel like one could not have a serious conversation with these two without any theatrics.

__

During this conversation, the child had been sitting on the stone, examining Renji and Rukia quietly.

__

After a moment however, her hazel eyes drift towards the giant palace above, and she slowly drops her thumb from her mouth. As if sensing the shift on the child’s mood, the two stop their bizarre antics and look at her clearly concerned.

__

”Nelliel-san?”

__

”Nel-san?”

__

The girl just gazes at the castle quietly, her eyes glazed.

__

Suddenly, Rukia could feel a _strong_ wave of energy emit from the child, and she takes a step back in surprise. The short green hair danced in the wind alongside the waves of energy bursting out from the kid in subtle waves, and Rukia could have sworn she began glowing briefly.

__

It wasn’t a threatening aura per say, but it was far stronger than one could imagine a tiny thing like her have.

__

_”.....Gwimmjaw...”_

__

The girl mutters quietly, her voice strangely distant.

__

The two glance at each other, then Pesche gently places a hand on her shoulder.

__

”Nelliel-san. He’s gone, like everyone else. He died while fighting that man.”

__

His tone was soft, and it almost sounded like a parent trying to break the sad news about the kids’ grandparent or pet dying to her.

__

”What is that kid going on about? What even _is_ she?”

__

Renji mumbles confused, but Rukia frowns a bit, glancing at the palace as well.

__

”.....Did you live there?”

__

Pesche glances at Rukia briefly, then nods, his earlier frantic aura replaced by something more melancholic.

__

”It was a long time ago. Long enough for your people to forget about us, apparently.”

__

There was no blame in his tone, but the woman couldn’t stop but feel there should have been. The child keeps gazing up at the lone castle above, as if mesmerized or sunken in thought.

__

”He’s in thewe.”

__

Her tone was sad as she spoke, and Pesche sighs, squeezing her shoulder again.

__

”Yes, the blade was left there after what happened. He’s not here anymore.”

__

 

__

_Blade?_

__

 

__

”Oi, could they be talking about...”

__

Renji looks at her, as if thinking about the same thing as Rukia. The woman nods, and gets their attention again.

__

”A blade was left behind by this man she is referring to, after a battle in the palace?”

__

”Aye. We didn’t dare to disturb it, for it marked the grave of a great warrior.”

__

Pesche pauses, then seems to make a face under his mask somehow.

__

”A destructive, at times a mean-spirited one with little respect to most, but still.”

__

"He waaas the second youngest of the Espaadas." The big guy adds, as if reminding his companion about this fact, and Pesche lets out a slight snort, though it doesn't sound condescending.

__

"I know Dondochakka, I haven't forgotten; It didn't really excuse how reckless he could be! That man gave Nelliel-San grey hairs!" The man pauses suddenly, glancing at the two Shinigami, looking like he realized he just said something that could be taken as offensive or inappropriate.

__

"With all respect to the dead of course; he was more likable than some... other of our leaders."

__

Rukia had no clue what all that meant, but it didn't really matter that much.

__

”This blade you speak of, was it blue with a panther carving on it?”

__

Both of the male hollows turn to stare at her now in shock, and Rukia takes a step back, feeling a little uncomfortable under their gazes, even if none were hostile.

__

”My friend, the one we are looking for, found it. According to him there’s a spirit in it.”

__

The big guy lets out a loud noise of surprise, and he looks down at his skinny companion, who was about equally dumbfounded.

__

”But...that is impossible! Once the owner dies, so would the zanpakuto spirit! We saw Grimmjow-san perish, alongside his Pantera!”

__

Pesche exclaims, frowning and now pointing at Rukia accusingly.

__

”Why are you trying to trick us Shinigami? Haven’t you people done enough damage!”

__

”I am not trying to fool you, I assure that. We are as perplexed by that spirit as you are of its existence.”

__

Rukia tells the hollow almost sternly, and he seems to falter under her stern gaze, dropping his hand and fidgeting around nervously, glancing at the green haired kid and his large headed friend. It was honestly hard to believe this man was a guard of any kind, given how anxious he seemed.

__

Suddenly, the girl who’d been staring at the palace turns around and nearly falls off the rock, grabbing Pesche to hold her balance and shakes him almost violently.

__

”He is in thewe Pesche! Ah can sense it, dun lie to me!”

__

”C-c-calm down Lady Nelliel, you’re making me dizzy!"

__

Pesche protests, trying to make the kid stop. The girl doesn’t listen and jumps down her rock all of a sudden, sprinting towards the palace far up ahead surprisingly quick.

__

”H-hey, wait! Nelliel-san!”

__

Pesche yelps out in panic and rushes after her, followed by the big guy after he glances between the two Shinigami and his buddies uncertain.

__

”Waaait for meee!”

__

Renji and Rukia watch them go, trying to process the bizarre meeting they just had.

__

”....I think we should follow them, Renji. Those three seem to have knowledge on just what Ichigo got himself mixed into.”

__

Rukia comments after a moment, and the redhead nods, agreeing with her notion.

__

Plus, he sorta felt concerned for the child.

__

She _was_ a hollow, and perhaps more powerful than she initially seemed, but... it did not change the fact she was also a child.

__

”Ya up for flash step? I doubt we can catch them with just normal running.”

__

Rukia hums and closes her eyes with a frown.

__

She was still a bit dizzy from what had happened, and the woman had a feeling she might not have enough energy yet to perform such a feat.

__

Before she could give out her answer however, Renji suddenly grabs her off her feet for a piggyback ride. Rukia protests at first, ruffling his hair and demanding the man to let her down.

__

”Come on, we don’t have time for this! It’s not just Ichigo who’s in trouble.”

__

The man reminds her as he starts running, and Rukia wraps her arms tight around his neck to not fall off.

__

Yes, it wasn’t just Ichigo.

__

Yuzu and Karin were somewhere in here too, and she could only pray that they weren’t dead yet.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past bromance intensifies. You might wanna prepare for feels. If you already suffer from feels, well...  
> This warning comes to you too late I suppose. If you don't have any feels that's fine though.  
> Not everybody gets dem feels that easily. 
> 
> I'm starting to think this story is gonna have two seasons, kind of.  
> First season is while Grimm is IN the sword, and we focus a lot on his past friendship with Kaien  
> Second season will focus more on the now, Ichigo and Grimm, and Grimmjow being OUT of the sword.


	16. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo finds out why he was lured to Hueco Mundo.  
> Grimmjow connects with something  
> Shit gets intense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, while writing this story ahead during the easter weekend, I came to two big realizations.  
> First one is that I still seem to struggle with writing Ichigo's character.  
> I have a tendency to make him softer than what he is, and that probably happens because once I start turning his temper up, he starts sounding too much like Grimmjow. They are alike, but not THAT alike, so I like to make Ichigo "softer" to contrast them. I still need practice in finding the balance with his character.  
> However, I'm going to try and make his temper more like it is in the manga in the future, once this first "season" of Grimm being stuck in his zanpakuto ends.  
> Weight on the word "try"  
> As for the second observation I made....check notes at the end ;)

Ichigo honestly wanted to smack himself.

He _should’ve known_ it was a trap, yet he’d still charged in head first after hearing what had sounded like his sister.

The ginger had overheard Grimmjow mention in a vision that hollows sometimes used trickery like this to lure prey. Hell, he’d witnessed them do it himself during his first encounters with the creatures.

Yet, none of this crossed his mind when he heard the seemingly familiar voice in the dark depths, calling for help.

Now, he was stuck at the bottom of a hole, with power suppressing chains wrapped around him.

When Ichigo had reached the source of the voice, he’d entered into a large room with what seemed to be a throne at the center. The throne was a smaller rip-off of the grand chairs in the throne room of the palace, and looked newer. It... surprised Ichigo to find out that hollows had actually been living in the palace, or at least near it, within these caverns that connected to the place’s dungeon.

Perhaps it had not been the atmosphere that warded of the hollows in this area, but the knowledge of an organized, relatively powerful group hiding in there.

When he’d been preoccupied on examining the weird throne, a group of hollows had suddenly jumped him.

Ichigo had warded off the first wave with ease, although he’d noted that the spirit of the blade was not reacting to anything happening around them right now. It was almost if Grimmjow was detached from the world, or unconscious. The power he'd channeled trough the zanpakuto had purely been his own.

Then, the big guy had appeared and smacked him bodily against a wall, before a chain was thrown at him that wrapped around his body like a metallic, glowing vine, binding both his body and his power.

It was likely one of those chains he’d seen earlier, given the aura they put off.

So they could seal more than just hollows?

The attack had made him drop the zanpakuto, and Ichigo watched helplessly as the nearest hollow takes it away, though clearly behaving like he was holding a ticking time bomb or something.

”We’ve been expecting you.”

The large hollow had spoken, voice surprisingly calm.

He had also sounded _familiar_ , but Ichigo could not place where he’d heard it before.

He’d demanded to see his sisters, to which a group of those things had grabbed him and dragged him to the hole, dumping him to where he was now, completely bound and unable to move a muscle.

Shit, if he was more able to use his spiritual pressure...

_”Ichigo?”_

A weak voice gains his attention, and Ichigo glances ahead, finding two figures huddled up in the dark corner.

As they scoot closer, he instantly recognizes the ginger and raven haired girls.

His heart swells with relief, which soon turns to worry and anger as he sees how pale they both were, and how drained Yuzu especially looked. She was white as a sheet, and unable to walk on her own, having to be supported by Karin.

Her eyes looked a little glazed and there were bags under her eyes.

Regardless of her state, she managed to smile a bit.

”You... came for us...”

”Of course I would; I just need to get these damn chains off me.”

Ichigo struggles again, but the bindings were too firmly wrapped around him. Karin puts Yuzu down and walks to help him, but the second her fingers touch the glowing white chains, she has to yank her hand back as if it was _burned._

”Shit, I cannot touch them!”

The girl looked genuinely distraught, and Ichigo didn’t blame her. The situation looked pretty bad.

”It’s fine; Rukia and Renji or some other Shinigami will probably show up soon for back-up, and they’ll find us easily with just tracking my spiritual aura.”

Ichigo tries to reassure the two, but even if his friends managed to do that - their senses weren’t as sharp as his - would they show up on time?

”Why did you just barge in here like that?! Now you’re trapped too!” Karin berates him, clearly calling his bluff.

She realizes a little too late however, that doing just that probably wasn’t a good idea given Yuzu was there, and her condition was already bad.

The ginger girl looks between them, her breathing a little harsh, and she looked to be at the verge of tears again. Karin quickly moves to hug her sister, telling her that it was okay, that Ichigo was probably right, she just needed to blow off some steam.

Ichigo manages to sit up and lean his back against a wall, sucking in a deep breath.

His aura was completely bound, but his mind could still wander.

It was the only thing he could think of doing, so he calls out to Grimmjow in his mind.

The spirit doesn’t respond, which was both not surprising given his lack of activity recently, and also a little concerning.

Why was the blunet suddenly blocking him from communicating?

Given his earlier experience, he should be able to reach the blunet even if he didn’t have the zanpakuto, and strangely enough, he could still feel Grimmjow’s power sort of buzzing around him passively, although he couldn’t really get a hold of it in any way. It was the same feeling he had when Grimmjow was present, except right now, he clearly _wasn’t._

Something was off, Ichigo was sure of it.

He did not want to believe the man would cut their communication out this abruptly over what happened, he had opened a portal for Ichigo after all to go to Hueco Mundo.

....It _had_ been Grimmjow, right?

 

 

 

 

_White._

_Everything was so bright around him, that all he saw was that damn color._

_Or was it lack of color?_

_Hell if he knew._

_There was a voice calling for him in the distance, but he didn’t really register it._

_He couldn’t._

_The numbness in his brain was paralyzing him, just letting him float around in this weird empty void._

_In some small part of his subconscious, he recognized this feeling._

_It was like what had happened back **then.**_

_Except, it was in reverse; instead of going black, everything was turning white._

_Instead of feeling like something sucked all the power out of his body, he felt like he was about to burst with energy._

_Last time had felt hostile, vile even._

_This time it was almost...friendly?_

_Yet, in both cases he couldn’t move._

_Not until whatever was happening would be over._

_His eyes slid closed again as the numbness spread._

_The growling was getting louder._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_”So this isn’t something you all have?”_

_Grimmjow could recognize that bastard’s voice even when his brain was weighed with drowsiness._

_Kaien was chatting with Nel about something quietly._

_”No. The only ones with such a second release are him and Ulquiorra-san. Starrk used to be able to do it too, but with age, he lost the ability as it bases on the more animalistic side of a younger hollow soul.”_

_Ah, of course the fucker would ask about that after what had happened._

_Kaien had had no clue what was happening._

_Probably shoulda have told him beforehand about it._

 

 

_~~Just like he probably should have told Kurosaki.~~ _

 

 

_”Only certain kind of hollows can have a merging like this with their spiritual companion; while it is... a powerful tool, it is usually uncontrollable as what you witnessed earlier, given it bases on pulling on your most basic instinct as a hollow. Grimmjow’s case is most volatile that Barragan has ever seen though, given how naturally instinctive he is normally.”_

_Nelliel’s voice sounded parent-y as usual, like a mother being concerned for her child or some shit like that. Grimmjow almost wanted to snort; it wasn’t HIS fault he happened to be capable of the Second Release/soul merging._

_He never asked for it._

_”...So that power and...I suppose you could say, blood thirst...” Grimmjow could actually hear Kaien fucking gringe as he said that, fucking hell this guy was soft, and he hated himself for being used to it and not minding it as much as he should have._

_”My transformation happened because he... lost control of himself due to activating it.”_

_Nelliel didn’t say anything, but Grimmjow could figure she had nodded as a response, as the next thing he heard was a slow sigh from the raven._

_”He...Grimmjow may have said he did it on purpose to rescue you from that evolving Menos, but I know even he is not that reckless.” Nelliel comments softly after a moment, and the blunet wanted to sit up and force her silent before she told Kaien what he knew she was going to say. Grimmjow was still unable to move however, body paralyzed from exhaustion._

_”I think...his anger got the better of him. Grimmjow has shown signs of accidentally activating his soul-merging when he gets too worked up.”_

_The man wanted to groan out in frustration and embarrassment. He hated it when this was brought up._

_For all of his craziness and bloodthirst and tendency to fuck shit up for fun, Grimmjow did not like the fact there was a part od him he just couldn’t control._

_He couldn’t **choose** to lose control with this. _

_Kaien remains quiet for a long time, and he could feel the man’s eyes on his resting form now. Nelliel didn’t have to say any more embarrassing things about how he’d gotten pissy because that Menos had almost devoured the coal haired shithead Shinigami._

_She didn’t have to spill it out to the world that the blunet damn well gave a shit about him, even if he refused to admit it openly._

_Grimmjow could feel the affection and sadness in the gaze aimed at him, and it made his skin crawl._

_He didn’t understand it._

_Why did it **have** to be such a big deal to humans?_

_”He was just trying to protect me, but ended up slipping.”_

_Kaien finally comments quietly, his voice a little choked up, like he was touched or some shit._

_**Big fucking deal, it’s not like you don’t know all of this already, with how damn perceiving you are** , Grimmjow thought._

_”Yes. Unfortunately, his chaotic side ended up bleeding into you, causing that transformation.”_

_The green haired woman confirms with a soft sigh, glancing at Grimmjow as well. For a moment the two were silent again, and the blunet could feel Kaien step closer, a hand hovering over his arm, almost hesitant to touch it._

_Eventually, the coal haired shinigami pulls his fingers away and chuckles, sounding a bit exhausted._

_”I guess, now I understand why you’re called the ’beast king”_

_”Technically speaking, Grimmjow’s official title is the Hunter King, but that title does apply as well. In fact, most seem to use it rather than the Hunter term.” _

_Nelliel comments with a slight amused tone in her voice, though it was fond rather than mocking._

_A while later, the blunet could sense them leave the room, although he could also feel Kaien glance back at him one last time before leaving._

_He could feel the apology in the air. Grimmjow wanted to tell him to knock it off, but he couldn’t._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Renji and Rukia had eventually caught up with the strange trio of hollows near the base of the palace.

The two had apparently caught their little friend thanks to her tripping on a rock and hurting her foot. She was currently bawling her eyes out as an overreaction to her injury, which the two were trying to tend, though didn’t seem to have a clue what they were doing.

”....Um. Maybe I can help; I know a couple of healing spells that can work on that.” Rukia offers, making the duo stop their frantic whirling around, and whip around to stare at her dramatically shocked.

”Y-you... why would a _Shinigami_ want to help us?!”

Pesche questions her instantly, and the raven haired woman sighs and brushes her hair, starting to grow exhausted with the manic energy these guys were putting up. Plus, her injury was still limiting her stamina somewhat.

”O-oi, Rukia, you don’t seem too good.”

Renji points out concerned upon noticing her exhausted expression.

The woman just gives him a glare, telling him she was fine, before turning her attention to the two hollows.

”I see no reason to be hostile towards you three; none of you seem threatening to us, like you’d like to devour our souls.”

Pesche blinks, then looks at her with a near offended frown.

”Us? Eating other souls? How barbaric! It is true that most of our kindred do that, but we’d **never** go to that animalistic level!”

”Uh huh! Noooobody in the Espada Palace ate souls ya know!”

The big guy joins in the protest.

”What makes you guys so special then?”

Renji cannot stop but asking, his voice a little sarcastic.

The two turn their offended stare at him, but then glance at each other, as if unsure on how to respond to that.

”It’s...to be honest we don’t really know. Some of us are simply born with no urge to do so.”

Pesche finally comments with a shrug.

Rukia lifts eyebrow at that; she had never heard of a hollow that had no desire to eat other beings’ souls.

”The stronger you are, the less need you have for soul-muuunching.”

The large guy adds, scratching his giant masked face thoughtfully, as he too was wondering why this was the case.

”...Regardless of that, would you let me please help your little friend? She seems to be in quite the pain given how much she is crying.”

As if on cue, the girl suddenly stops with a large grin on her face.

”It wend away.”

The four just sort of stare at her, not knowing how to react.

”Thanks for offering lady. Yuu a nice one!”

The girl then adds cheerfully, and then looks around, seemingly confused all of a sudden.

”Pesche, why are we here?”

The group blinks, and the two adult hollows look at each other and sigh in unison, as if this had happened before.

”You ran here yourself Nelliel-san, claiming that someone was there, even though the palace is abandoned.”

The girl tilts her head and digs her nose, looking confused.

”Why would I do dat?”

For a moment, it seemed like the insect headed man wanted to explain, but then he just sighs defeated and lets it be.

”Come on Lady Nelliel, this area is dangerous, we should leave.”

”Okee.”

The girl hops off the rock and walks to her friends like nothing had happened, even though earlier she had been insistent on heading here. It was bizarre, but given the reaction the two had, the Shinigamis concluded there was something wrong with the poor girl’s mind, making her forget things in an instant like this.

The big guy takes the girl on his back, and the duo turns to face Rukia and Renji again.

”Well, I wish you good luck in finding your friend, though chances are he’s no longer alive.”

Pesche tells them politely.

Before they can start heading away into any direction however, a sudden pulse of energy washes over them, seemingly appearing out of _nowhere._

They all freeze, and the two Shinigami grasp their swords, looking around cautiously.

Whatever that what they felt just now was... it was **_powerful._**

”H-hey, Peesche.”

The big guy mumbles out uneasily, and looks up at the palace ruins towering above them at the mountain side. Pesche had turned his gaze up too now, his eyes wide.

”...That... surely it isn’t what we think it is, it would be impossible.”

”Buut, Nel-san said...”

”Nelliel-san is hurt; the battle caused a bad injury to her head remember?”

The man sounded like he was trying to convince himself about something, rather than face whatever he was sensing right now.

”What was that?” Renji demands from the group, as it was fairly obvious they seemed to know what was going on.

They turn to look at the red haired man, but neither could utter out a word, as suddenly the green haired girl lets out a loud yell, and jumps off her companion’s back, running towards the very base of the palace.

”Wad are yuu standing there? We gotta get up there, _he’s_ up there!”

The little girl demands and then actually attempts to climb her way up, jumping from rock to rock, taking rather impressive leaps. However, soon enough she is left hanging from a ledge, up until her fingers slip.

**_”Nelliel-san!!”_ **

Both of the hollows yell out in worry, but before either could make a move, Renji hops into action and catches the kid before she falls and hurts herself.

”Seriously, what the heck do you think you are doing, trying to climb that by yourself?”

The redhead scolds the kid, who just looks at him with wide hazel eyes, as if surprised that he’d helped her.

Moments later, the wide eyes turn into teary ones, and Renji is faced with a galore of saltwater and snot rubbed against his robes.

_”I thought I was gonna die!”_

The girl sobs, wiping her face against Renji’s sleeve much to his disgust and dismay. The man pats her head awkwardly however, telling her that it was okay.

Her intense wailing shuts down almost instantly, like what had happened earlier, but as she looks up at the redhead, she was still upset and not smiling obliviously.

”He needs help, we need ta go up there!”

”Who’s _he?_ ”

Renji asks confused, then looks up at the two adult hollows as if asking the same question from them. The two glance at each other again, as if unsure whenever they should explain this or not.

”That wave of pressure we felt just now... you two know what it was, don’t you?”

Rukia asks, crossing her arms. The two jump and turn to look at her, looking like they’d been caught red-handed from doing something bad.

”The thing is...Renji and I have felt this aura before.”

The redhead blinks, then frowns as he thinks back.

”Yeah... it kind of reminds the aura Ichigo carried when he was... possessed and, you know...”

he could not bring himself to mention how the ginger had stabbed Rukia trough her gut while under the influence of that maddening energy that had invaded his mind.

” _You have?_ But that’s not possible! Humans cannot live that long, and surely I’d know you two if you had existed then.” Pesche looks at them confused.

Before anybody could utter out any further words, another wave passes trough the air, making Renji’s hair stand to an end. It was clear these pulses were growing stronger.

”Peesche, what if Nel is right? What if he’s up there?”

The big guy asks, looking at his shorter companion. The aforementioned male just gazes up for a long moment, unsure on what to do.

”Well, whenever you three are going there or not, we will; given we know this power, this likely means Ichigo is up there too.” Rukia states firmly, making the whole group turn to look at her, but she ignored their gazes, her eyes focused on the palace above. Renji’s eyes widen a bit as he realizes she was likely _right._

This aura he felt pulsing trough his body was the same one the spirit in that zanpakuto carried, or at least highly similar, and since Ichigo had taken the blue zanpakuto with him...

”Let’s go Rukia, surely we can find a way in somewhere around here.”

The woman nods, and the two head out to search for a way up. The group of hollows watch them go, then the girl yanks at their sleeves.

”They are gunna go up, we should help them!"

”But Nelliel-san, even if what we feel would be true, based on what I sense, it’s too dangerous to go up there.” Pesche tries to reason with the little girl, who just glares at him stubbornly.

”But yuu will protect me, right? An' if he’s up there, maybe Nel can make him be nice again.”

The two look at each other at a loss, fairly certain nobody could ever make this king ’nice’ though they understood what she meant.

”Pesche, what if she’s riight? Whaat if Jeagerjaquez-san is reeally up there?”

”Dondochakka, we know that even if that would be _true_ , then the state he is in is **not** something we can deal with. Grimmjow’s Soul-merging was always _highly dangerous,_ even Barragan-san acknowledged it. _”_

”But, Nel-san always liked him. He’s family. It’s noo fair to leave him up there in that state.”

Pesche couldn’t really disagree with that. For some reason their Espada had always been fond of her blue haired companion.

Besides, if it was true that the Hunter King was alive... perhaps more were too.

He looks down at Nel, who was looking at her two guardians with hopeful eyes.

Finally, the man sighs and turns to yell at the two Shinigami.

”Wait, we’re coming too! We know a way in!”

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t that long that Ichigo had to spend in the hole: soon enough a group of hollows came to get him, leaving his sisters be for now.

The ginger was dragged in front of the big guy again, who was measuring him from head to toe.

”I must say, it is kind of ironic that out of all possible souls, you’d be the one to complete the last piece of the ritual.”

Ichigo blinks, a little confused.

He was also feeling dizzy, as when the chains pretty much bound his powers and normal resistance, all he was left with was spiritual sensitivity, which was nauseatingly high without his natural buffers.

The man marches down from his mockery of a throne and grabs Ichigo’s hair, tilting his head up.

Why did this hollow feel so familiar?

He was sure he’d never seen him before, but something about his voice and aura tugged in the back of his mind.

”The man whose Zanpakuto you carry was _highly_ fond of your ancestor after all, kid.”

Ichigo’s eyes widen: so this guy knew Grimmjow?

Was he one of the hollows from that time?

Now when he looked at the large male, he _did_ look more human than the rest in the room, and based on the memories he’d seen, majority of the palace’s hollows had been human-like.

His sudden realization seemed to amuse the large male hollow, as he lets out a low, eerie chuckle, before letting go of Ichigo’s hair.

”I used to live in this palace years ago; I was one of their servants, up until one of your kindred wiped everything out.”

There was no malice or anger in his voice, almost like this one didn’t care about the tragedy that had happened back then, and was merely stating facts.

”It was a rather..... _short-sighted_ decision from your side, given it caused quite the influx of our kindred to flood your dimension, not to mention thrusting Hueco Mundo into chaos.”

Ichigo blinks, confusion filling his mind again; the history books had always stated that the problem had been _worse_ in the past, before Aizen’s sacrifice.

Then again, Ichigo had recently learned a lot of it was a lie.

”Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?”

The ginger demands, struggling against his chains, only to be forced face down against the floor by the hollows holding him. Their leader had turned his back to Ichigo now, examining his self-made throne quietly for a moment.

”Hueco Mundo _needs_ a new king. This dimension will collapse without a leader. I am the only suitable one left, but I do not have enough power. Now however...”

One of his underlings hands an object to him, and as the large male turns, Ichigo realizes he was holding Grimmjow’s zanpakuto.

It made Ichigo’s blood boil, seeing some lowly hollow touching it.

...wait, was this his emotion or Grimmjows?

It did not quite feel like it was purely his, but he also did not feel like something was invading his mind like usual.

”Now I have the means to gain this power. Nobody has been able to wield this zanpakuto, anyone who tried to touch it would be burned to death or eviscerated by an invisible force.”

Ichigo could recall his first interaction with the zanpakuto, as well as how its occupant had annihilated the hollows fighting him.

However, he’d also seen _Kaien_ touch it in a memory, and nothing had happened.

Perhaps because Grimmjow was okay with somebody he liked touching it, rather than some random low-level monster.

”It is clear this still holds power, and I know a way to draw out that power and merge it within me.”

Ichigo did not like the sound of that.

”What do I have to do with this?”

He could feel the hollow grin darkly under the mask that covered the entire lower half of his face, hiding his mouth from view.

"This ritual requires a _sacrifice._ A hollow can gain more power by devouring souls; we merge the scattered spiritual-matter with our bodies to strengthen them. Trying to merge oneself with a lingering power within an object is different, one needs a substitute, a body to transfer the energy into first, before destroying it.”

Ichigo’s face began to loose color as he started to understand the implications of those words.

This guy was basically going to turn him into spirit dust so he could get Grimmjow’s power. 

”What makes you think that blade has _any_ power? That thing that kept tearing you to shreds, maybe it was just left there by the Shinigami who kicked your asses.”

The hollow holding him snarls, slamming his face hard against the floor, until his nose was bleeding. The bastard did not try to do it again however, after gaining a cold stare from his leader, as the large male reminds the underling that they needed the human alive for now.

”I can recognize a hollow essence when I sense one. It is peculiar how some of his power is still in this despite Jeagerjaquez’ death.”

As the man examines the blade, Ichigo slowly realizes that this guy did not seem to know about the fact the power he felt was _not_ leftovers, but the _actual_ soul of the actual owner.

Ichigo wasn’t sure if he should tell the bastard the truth.

What good would it do?

What good would staying silent do?

”We’ve already prepared everything we need to perform the ritual.”

The man lowers the blade’s tip to almost poke Ichigo’s eye with it. The ginger glares back at him without a hint of fear in his eyes.

”What about my sisters? You used them to lure me here, but you don’t need them anymore!”

”Ah yes. Once this is complete, I suppose they’ll make a nice meal to the re-birthed me.”

The hollows around them laugh, and Ichigo snarls, struggling against his bindings once again.

Shit, if only he could use spiritual energy abilities...

His face gets slammed against the ground again, and Ichigo could hear the large figure give orders, and he gets dragged away from the scene, his vision blurry and blotched with red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

_The prickling sensation was starting to get unbearable._

_He wanted to scratch his own skin till it bled, but he was still paralyzed._

_The distant growl had turned into an all encompassing sound all around him, and he knew what that meant._

_This was different from earlier though. It was stronger. Far stronger than before. He could feel something was cracking, pieces, small like grains of sand were falling into the void. Perhaps it was the last of his sanity slipping away._

_Maybe that outburst earlier with Kurosaki had finally made him lose it._

_He opened his eyes._

_Everything was white as before, but he wasn’t alone._

_A giant figure shadowed him, and he knew what it was._

_It wasn’t quite Pantera, with how twisted and warped the feline looked, grin spreading across its face like it was able to open its jaw as wide as a damn snake._

_A leftover, a twisted memory of his once companion, that now only served to trigger and represent one of his worser moments._

_He’d known it was there, but this was the first time he could see it._

_He almost wanted to chuckle; the damn thing looked near perfect for the role it carried._

_Twisted, ugly creature that was mixture of sharp angles, messed up fur that morphed into flames, and a face-splitting grin that he knew he sometimes wore when he really got into it._

_Perhaps he was seeing it now, because he was giving up._

_Hell, letting that thing take him over probably wouldn’t be that bad. H_

_is so called life had been a shit-show at this point anyway._

_The feline opens its giant jaws to swallow him whole._

_Then, a voice called out to him again, this time much clearer than before._

_A voice he knew._

_He opens his mouth and a loud, fierce **growl** escapes his throat, so loud it even overpowered the sound the beast above him was making. _

_The thing backs away and shrinks, cracks appearing on its body, like the thing was made of glass._

_Feeling his body finally start cooperating, Grimmjow reaches for the feline, grasping it’s throat, sinking his own claws deep into the white fur and flesh._

_A pulse of power left his form, and the thing shattered, enveloping him in a bright blue glow._

_It almost felt like something was returning, something he’d lost long ago._

 

 

 

 

 

Ichigo was chained between two tall rocks sticking out of the ground like upside down stone icicles.

The chains were glowing like before, but these felt different.

Rather than just sealing his power, it felt almost like they were sucking it away, bit by bit.

They were atop of a large, round pillar of sorts sticking out of the cave ground, reaching several yards up towards the ceiling.

There was a small, pinprick of light coming down from above, illuminating nothing else but the top of the pillar.

The large hollow leader had stuck Grimmjow’s zanpakuto against a makeshift altar of sorts, and walked himself onto a stone circle, so all three formed the points of a triangle. There was a large, weird symbol in the middle, that seemed to be drawn on sand by blood. Rest of the hollows were watching it from the ledges on the walls around the circular cave, some also standing and cheering at the bottom of the giant pillar.

Ichigo was not sure if this place was a part of the palace as well, or if these scoundrels had re-modified it for their purposes.

_Scoundrels?_

The ginger frowns, confused about his own thoughts.

Not that it mattered; if he didn’t come up with something soon, he’d end up dead.

Ichigo turns his attention to the large hollow who was currently searching trough a very old looking book.

Hueco Mundo _had_ books?

....He really should not be surprised by anything at this point.

”What makes you so sure you should be the next ruler?”

The large figure glances up at him, clearly amused by Ichigo’s attempts at buying time.

”I am one of the very few left from those more glorious times, and quite easily the most powerful one, so why shouldn’t I?”

The male hollow clearly thought Ichigo had no chance of escaping, and was in no hurry.

”Why’d you even want to rule a dead place like this?”

”No one has said I’d let my brethren just sit idly by here, while there are much more delicious meals in the offer out there.”

The ginger felt a chill travel down his spine, and he yanks on his chains, telling the bastard that his Shinigami companions would just wipe the floor with all of them if they ever dared to try.

”Perhaps normally, but as you may have noticed, I’ve found a way to mask us from your senses. By the time they realize an invasion is happening, it’ll be too late.”

A twisted chorus of laughter erupted in the air as all the creatures gathered around them start chuckling in unison, clearly thrilled by the prospect of hunting down more human souls freely.

”Then what? You’ll eventually run out of humans to devour, pretty quickly too if your buddies response is anything to go by.”

The large hollow stares at Ichigo now, a sinister grin visible from his eyes, even if the mouth was covered.

”Oh, we won’t devour all of them. I am certain we find other uses to your weak kindred once we are done devouring the Shinigami and all those spiritually sensitive.”

The ginger just glares at him, tugging on his chains, trying to summon some sort of power to free himself.

However, as he did so, a sudden wave of dizziness passed by him, and he could feel the sensation of energy being sucked out of him increase. The large hollow chuckles at him, closing the book and walking to the panting ginger.

”Your tenancy is admirable, Shinigami, which is precisely what makes you perfect for this ritual; only a powerful soul could possibly match with one of our kings’ essence.”

A large hand grabs his hair, forcing him to look up again. Shit his vision was blurry as hell.

”You should feel honored; its not just any human that can be used to channel a ruler’s power.”

”Go fuck yourself.”

Ichigo spits at his face, gaining some grim satisfaction as the hollow is forced to let go of him and back away, wiping the spit away from his eyes.

”....I suppose you have stalled enough.”

He turns on his heels to greet his fellow hollows, holding his hands up in a dramatic pose.

**”It is time for us to begin!”**

A loud cheer echoed in the room a second later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....I learned that apparently cats wrapping their tail around your arm, head, etc. is a huge sign of affection.  
>  I didn't know that, I have a dog, not a cat.
> 
> I MADE GRIMMJOW DO THAT WITH ICHIGO FROM THE START OF THIS STORY  
> WHEN HE WAS STALKING ON ICHIGO WHEN HE WAS SLEEPING  
> He wrapped his tail around Ichigo's neck the first time they interacted, when not counting the very VERY first time, where Ichigo barrel-rolled onto his zanpakuto and Grimm possessed him the first time.  
> Grimmjow is a big cat  
> he basically did a highly affectionate thing when they JUST met.
> 
> *fiercely sweats and tries to come up with a way on how to explain THAT one away*


	17. Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo finally meets his ancestor face-to-face  
> Grimmjow blows off some steam.

The way in the strange group of hollows knew, as it turns out, was a narrow pathway at the side of the mountain, at times so small they had to move forward sideways.

Eventually however, the group reaches the first level of the palace, a grand front door and terrace that was at least thirty meters wide to each direction. It was like a smoothed out cliff sticking out of the mountain, leading to the giant ivory doors that led into the actual building.

The doors themselves were partially opened and broken down from the event that occurred long time ago, but they were still kind of stunning to look at.

”Whoever these guys were, they surely had a fancy taste.” Renji comments after whistling.

Sure, he had seen the palace from within already, but standing at its front doors had a special kind of feeling to it.

”I would not claim that; this palace was originally inhabited by Barragan-san only, so rather than our taste being extravagant, you could say it was his taste."

Pesche corrects the shinigami politely, who just looks at him confused, not knowing who the hell Barragan was.

Upon realizing the redhead didn’t even know that, the hollow lets out a dramatic sigh and grumbles under his breath at his companion, who pats his back awkwardly.

”....Since we know so little, why don’t you enlighten us while we search for our friend?”

Rukia offers to the man, whose face brightens instantly, and he straightens his back, coughing.

”What would you like to know, Lady Kuchiki?”

Rukia blinks, still not quite used to having a _hollow_ that was formal and polite, as most of them just sort of growled and hissed at her, before trying to claw her eyes out.

”Well, for starters, what the hell _is_ this place exactly? We didn’t know Hueco Mundo even had buildings, not until we stumbled upon this one.”

Renji comments as he examines the large doors, trying to prod with his senses to see if he could pick up on anything.

It was eerily quiet.

Pesche looked about ready to throw a frustrated fit, but his companion places a large hand on his shoulder, reminding him with his strange, stretched out speech pattern that it would not be nice of him to get upset; it was not the duo’s fault likely that they didn’t know anything.

Pesche sighs and gathers himself, walking to the doors as well and gesturing at them.

”This Palace once belonged to the Rulers of Hueco Mundo, the _Espada_ as they were called.”

Rukia hums, holding her chin thoughtfully.

Based on their observations so far, what Pesche said only made sense.

Ichigo likely knew more details already, but they could question him once they found the ginger.

”Although, they weren’t rulers in the same way human kings and queens are, I believe.”

”How so?”

The redhead asks as he peeks trough the gap on the door. It was just wide enough for them to squeeze trough, though he doubted the big guy - Dondochakka was it? - could fit past the narrow gap.

”Given the...peculiar nature of our world, how dense it is with spiritual pressure, the Espada did not _rule_ it, as much as _maintain_ the balance.”

”Balance?”

Renji turns to look at the skinny male beside him, and Pesche nods, turning his gaze to the scenery ahead.

The sands of Hueco Mundo always looked lonely, but it was clear the male was fond of his home, even if also felt melancholic about its state.

”Their task was to make sure that there would not be too much power gathering up in one corner of this world, as it could cause the entire dimension to... rupture so to say.”

”Rupture? What do you mean?”

Rukia looks at the man confused, having also walked to the palace doors. She glances at the big masked guy, probably thinking the same as Renji had just now.

”Basically, all this raw, natural energy you sense around you, it _flows_ and **bubbles** all around us, like a large boiling soup. It gives birth to hollows, it can be absorbed and make others stronger. However, if it starts boiling too chaotically, it’ll spill over.”

Rukia frowns, as part of her began to understand what the man was getting at.

”So...you mean that all this energy could...flow into other dimensions?”

Pesche nods, his face surprisingly serious now.

”Yes. We originally formed an alliance with the Shinigami to control the spillage that was happening towards your world. Unfortunately, that plan ended up...well, let’s just say it ended in tragedy.”

Pesche averts his eyes and gazes at the green haired girl, who was examining the place with the same kind of awe Rukia and Renji had initially felt.

For a moment they all fell silent.

”....Is that girl...we have seen the murals inside. There was a green haired woman portrayed amongst them.”

Rukia lets the unsaid question hang in the air, her voice gentle and cautious. Pesche remains still for a moment, then brings his hand up to rub his eyes with a sigh.

”Yes. Nelliel-san, she...in the battle against that man, her mask was broken, which almost ended up killing her. We managed to...save her life, but she reverted into this small, weak form.”

The sadness and pain was evident in the man’s voice, and Renji would have never imagined he’d feel sorry for a hollow, but right now, he did.

”....So, how about the owner of that blue zanpakuto? The one our friend found from within the castle.”

The redhead asks after a moment, a little discouraged that he couldn’t really sense anything yet. Maybe whatever they’d felt earlier wasn’t here after all?

”Ah, _him_. One of our younger kings.”

There was a mixture of respect and dismay in Pesche’s voice, the same kind of tone they’d heard him use before when discussing this particular person.

”Jeagerjaquez-san was....powerful, _especially_ for his age. When comparing to you humans, he could be considered to have been somebody of roughly your age I presume; a young adult at most.”

Pesche gestures Dondochakka to come closer, and the man grabs the girl into his lap and walks to them. As if understanding what his companion wanted him to do, the large headed figure grabs the door edge, and Renji has to move out of the way as the guy somehow manages to pull the damn thing open with just one hand. He didn’t seem strong, but _clearly_ was.

The group heads inside, and the Shinigami remain quiet as Pesche leads them trough the grand hall. It was round, and Rukia noted it was divided to ten sections.

Each of the wall sections had a number above them, and each picture seemed to portray one of the Espada.

Some images were destroyed, but the one Pesche was leading them to was not.

Rukia quickly recognized the blue haired figure as the same one Ichigo had been interested in, and who likely was the owner of the zanpakuto.

”He was the last Espada to fall, because when... when _it_ happened, when _he_ raided our home, Grimmjow wasn’t in the palace.”

Renji and Rukia glance at each other, wondering if they should ask just who exactly this person was whose name Pesche seemed to be avoiding, but thought better of it for now.

”He returned to find his Fraccion - servants like us - slaughtered, the palace half destroyed. He faced off against _that_ man....”

Pesche goes quiet, his voice turning shaky near the end of his sentence.

It was clear recalling whatever the man had witnessed was difficult.

”We saw the whooole thing.” Dondochakka joins in, even his booming voice quieter than normal.

”Yes...he put on an admirable effort, but in the end he _wasn’t_ strong enough...”

Suddenly, **another** pulse hits them, and this one was so strong that it made the ground shake, and actually forced them back a bit, like a powerful gust of air had hit them.

There was a sound, almost akin to a _growl,_ that echoed in the halls.

Pesche looks around spooked, and Dondochakka was also panicking, grabbing his giant head and letting out a spooked wail.

The little girl however, her eyes were wide, and she was staring into the direction the blast had come from.

A second later, she _sprints_ again, and the two hollows yell and run after her, warning the girl that it was dangerous.

The two Shinigami glance at each other, then quickly hurry after the two.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo could not stop the pained groans and gasps leaving his body.

His vision was clouded with glowy, white spots and his whole body felt hot and cold the same time.

The large hollow had gone back to his circle and began chanting something.

Moments later, a vine of energy had shot from him and linked Ichigo and the sword together with him. The pain had been instantaneous, as one could expect when somebody tried to rip your soul from within their body and pulverize it.

The energy from the three figures was pulsing trough the room, making their spectators howl in excitement.

Ichigo tried to struggle and get away, but the binding on him was too strong. Shit. He should have planned this out better. Now he was gonna die, unable to even save his sisters.

It was pathetic.

After another powerful wave of nausea and pain hit him, his world went _white._

Everything just... _disappeared._

The sounds, the aching, everything.

Ichigo wondered briefly if he’d died.

Then, he feels something behind him.

He’s unable to turn, but he could feel something was looking down at him. Ichigo tilts his head back to look up.

At first, Ichigo couldn’t make out anything, but then he sees the being looking down at him.

It was that white hollow again.

A clawed hand lands on his shoulder gently, and a voice echoes in his head.

 

_Don’t be afraid._

 

”...Who... who are you?”

Ichigo asks, or at least he thinks he does; his lips never open to let out a sound.

The hollow reaches up with his free hand, sinking his claws into the mask. The white surface cracks, and Ichigo watches with widened eyes, as pieces of the ivory material grumble to the floor, finally revealing what it had been hiding behind it.

The face greeting him was chalk white, but the raven hair, the similar warm eyes, the shape of it...

The man observing him was none other, but _Kaien Shiba._

Ichigo feels his lips part, but no sound comes out as he just stares at the man in shock.

 

_"Greetings, Ichigo. It’s a joy to finally meet you."_

 

The spirit steps back, and the ginger is finally able to move, turning and getting up slowly, despite not being able to see what he was standing on.

Everything was white around him.

”Why did you lead me here?!”

Ichigo’s voice was accusatory; he couldn't help himself right now, as the man had been the one to lead him to this place, only for Ichigo to get trapped and chained to be a part of some sick ritual. His ancestor flinches, turning his gaze aside.

”Those guys are trying to kill me, and they’ll kill my sisters too!”

Ichigo marches forward, but as he tries to reach for his ancestor to shake or perhaps punch him, he suddenly disappears, appearing further away behind him.

_”You misunderstand my intentions, although I do not blame you about this reaction.”_

”How? You led me here, probably knowing full well it was a trap!”

Ichigo spats at him, his eyes blazing with fury.

”Not just that, that bastard is going to _kill_ Grimmjow too with his antics! Wasn't he supposed to be your friend!?”

Suddenly, Kaien appears right in front of him, grabbing Ichigo’s collar and looking positively furious.

One of his eyes morphed into the hollow-esque black and gold one, and his voice gained a lilting echo to it as he spoke.

 

_”I’d NEVER attempt to harm my friend like this, boy! Don’t spew out accusations when you don’t...”_

 

Kaien sucks in a deep breath and snaps his jaw closed, as if he hadn’t meant to get upset like that.

He lets go of Ichigo slowly and backs away a bit to gather himself.

 

_"Sorry, I...I've been in this hollow form for so long, my temper is awful..."_

The man mumbles out, sounding sincerely apologetic.

”Then what are you doing? How are you even here? Why do you appear like that hollow in that painting about...”

Kaien holds his hand up, looking at Ichigo sternly.

_”We do not have much time to discuss all these questions. Soon things will turn hectic and you need to be prepared.”_

Ichigo frowns, displeased about that reply.

_”I mean it Ichigo; what that hollow thinks he is doing is very different from reality.”_

Kaien snaps his fingers, and suddenly, Ichigo could see his own glowing aura, blazing brightly around him.

The only strange thing in it was the blue outer rim on it.

That blue was extending _towards_ Kaien, flowing  trough him.

Not only that, but it seemed that the longer the blue glow entered him, the more transparent his body became.

”You’re _fading._ ”

Ichigo comments, his voice a bit unnerved.

Whatever was happening to the spirit, it didn’t seem to be good.

The man just gives him a reassuring smile.

_”Do not worry; I am simply returning what belongs to its rightful owner.”_

”What do you mean? How are you even here the first place?”

Kaien glances aside, and Ichigo follows his gaze. He suddenly realizes that the blue aura that was flowing trough Kaien, was heading towards the blue zanpakuto that had appeared in the distance.

_”He is not touching your power even if it seems so to them. He is simply taking what already belonged to Grimmjow. Part of his power has lingered within you ever since you touched his blade, and now, it is returning to him.”_

Ichigo gazes at the zanpakuto for a moment.

”What all of this has to do with you?”

_”...When I battled Aizen in this grotesque hollow form, I was channeling Grimmjow’s power. I did not realize it back then, not until after I was slain. Thanks to this connection, part of my soul was...attached to him, but he could not hear me. That is how I am here, with you. I entered your mind using the connection you two seem to have.”_

The sadness in Kaien’s tone was evident, and their surroundings turn darker as if to respond to his mood.

Ichigo feels his anger drain away as he sees the pain in the man’s face.

_”I tried to reach him for years in the captivity, but there was some sort of wall dividing us. I was right there, I could...”_

the man takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment. He was clearly fighting back tears.

”...You really loved him, didn’t you?”

Ichigo asks softly, and Kaien has to bring his hand up to hide his face for a moment.

Eventually, he drops the hand and huffs out a breath, looking at Ichigo seriously now.

_”While I could not communicate with him, I could observe the world around us. When you picked up the sword, it released the binding tying me somewhat for a reason I still do not really know, nor does it matter; thanks to you, I was able to reach for people outside. I managed to communicate with that man Urahara, asking him to share my journal with you."_

Ichigo frowns upon hearing that; so Urahara had been doing his usual shtick behind the scenes? That should not have been surprising. That aside...

"So, what's the deal with what's happening right now? Why did you come to talk to me all of a sudden?"

_"I had been aware of Grand Fischer’s ambition, and after noticing how you and Grimmjow resonated, I realized I could perhaps use Fischer’s plans to my advantage.”_

Ichigo frowns; so that was the big guy’s name?

It sounded so familiar for some reason...

_”I revealed him this ritual, led him to that book. It doesn't have all the details on it anymore however, hence I was able to trick him.”_

”Why?”

_”So I can bring him back. Something big is coming, Ichigo. Hueco Mundo needs their King, a proper king, not some ambitious fool.”_

Ichigo blinks in confusion; the tone Kaien was using reminded him of the unusual thoughts he'd had earlier. Perhaps those thoughts had resonated from Kaien and not Grimmjow after all. 

Ichigo almost stumbles as the invisible ground shakes violently all of a sudden, and a loud growl fills the air.

Kaien looks around too, though he doesn’t seem surprised.

_”With this ritual, Grimmjow will be able to reconstruct his body again, as there is enough spiritual energy for him to use. I would have done this without getting you involved if I could, but Fischer is correct about one thing; you do need a vessel to channel this power trough before it can enter to where it needs to go.”_

”The hell you mean?”

Kaien looks at Ichigo slightly amused, though he also looked tired; his body was really transparent, which likely had something to do with it.

_”You were never taught how hollows were born?”_

”I..might’ve skipped that class."

The man laughs fondly, then gasps and places a hand over his chest.

_”It seems...I am running out of time. Soon last bits of my soul will merge with him. It should be enough to rescue him.”_

The ginger blinks, looking at the disappearing ghost in confusion.

”What do you mean?”

_”Just returning the bits you and I took from him isn’t enough. By giving **my** soul up as well for this, he’ll be freed.”_

Ichigo looks at Kaien in shock, _finally_ understanding what his words meant.

”You...you’re _sacrificing_ your soul for this? Are you crazy?!”

Kaien just smiles at him, and walks closer, placing a hand gently on Ichigo’s shoulder.

He was so see trough the ginger could barely feel it.

_”It’s...the least I can do for not being there when his world was turned upside down. I should have been there to stop him. I knew Aizen did not see them as I did.”_

Kaien’s voice was pained again, and Ichigo could tell the man carried immense guilt over the past, even if he was not directly at fault. At least not as far as Ichigo knew, anywayl

”Would Grimmjow want you to do this?”

The man is taken aback, and a sad smile spreads across his face.

_”No. He would likely berate ’the living shit’ out of me as he would put it, but it’s too late to stop this. Besides if I...”_

He flinches and backs away, holding his chest as his breathing began to turn labored.

_”If I don’t...do this... **you’ll** die instead. He might not want me to...but I am doing this to help you too, in more ways than you might realize at this moment, but will later.” _

Before Ichigo could utter out a word, the man start glowing brightly, forcing him to close his eyes.

A **_huge_** energy blast washes over him, and suddenly Ichigo felt like he was falling.

...to the ground.

The ginger realizes his chains had _snapped_ , and as he looks around hazily, he finds Grimmjow’s sword was floating in the air, glowing intensely.

Not only that, but the hollow - Grand Fischer according to Kaien - was frozen, letting out strange gargling noises, like he was choking.

_”What the...”_

Suddenly, much to Ichigo’s horror, the blue zanpakuto shatters into glowing pieces, the small shards falling to the ground like glowing, sharp rain.

Whatever force was holding onto the giant hollow releases him, and he slumps to his fours, panting harshly.

He was bleeding from between the teeth of his mask, and his entire body shook with strain.

”What...this **isn’t** what was supposed to happen!”

The man growls, slowly lifting his gaze to glare at Ichigo.

The ginger reaches for his sword subconsciously, only to be reminded that it wasn’t there.

The hollow gets up and marches to him, grabbing Ichigo by his throat and forcing him against one of the stone pillars he was chained on.

”This, I do not know what you did, but...”

His growl is cut short as suddenly, the shards of the blade start glowing again, and a loud roar breaks into the air.

They both turn their shocked gazes towards the glow behind them.

Slowly, a _figure_ starts forming from the light, and Fischer drops Ichigo, backing away in slight fear.

He had been acting so confident earlier, so sensing this terror from him was bizarre.

”What...”

All hollows surrounding them had fallen silent too, watching the unfolding events in confusion and fear.

Another growl breaks the air, and the glow forms into a familiar shape.

Ichigo recognized Grimmjow’s battle form with ease, except once the details began to turn visible, it was clear something was _wrong._

His hair was wilder than usual, his claws longer and sharper, and the aura surrounding the figure was again much more animalistic.

Eventually, the glow disappears, and the figure drops on top of the platform the sword had been in, crouching on it, his head hanging low.

For a moment, everything turned quiet, as all eyes were on the white and blue figure in front of them.

Ichigo glances at the large hollow, whose eyes were almost comically wide.

”The _Hunter King_ is...this is...impossible!”

_Hunter King?_

There had been a mention of a title similar to that in Kaien’s diary, but wasn’t it about beasts, not hunters?

Suddenly, the figure opens its eyes, and to Ichigo’s horror, the sclera was _black_ like last time he’d seen the man in this form.

Slowly, Grimmjow lifts himself up, straightening himself almost gracefully, which wasn’t too surprising given his feline like form.

Then, he throws his head back and _**Ro**_ _ **ars.**_

It was not a growl or a hiss, nothing like what Ichigo had heard before from him.

It was an _insanely_ powerful sound, the pressure wave from it hurling across the large space and _destroying_ the rock around them, **shattering** the pillars Ichigo had been attached on to dust, throwing several hollows against the walls, cementing them deep into the stone, even shattering the mask of several weaker ones, killing them instantly.

Ichigo could feel the ground beneath his feet shake, and the giant pillar they’d stood on starts to crack and grumble, throwing a thick cloud of dust into the air.

Seconds later, he was falling trough the air, rock and dust raining around him, blinding the ginger momentarily.

The noise was near deafening too.

Ichigo saw a glimpse of white near him, and he could see Grand Fischer falling alongside him, bleeding from his head.

Likely the bastard had struck his head against something while falling.

It was a brief moment of satisfaction, given he was likely to die too once he hit the ground.

Then, something hurls towards him trough the chaos, and he is whisked away from the falling rubble.

He stumbles to the floor further away from the crumbling rock, rolling across the sand several feet before hitting a rock that stopped his movement. At first, all he could see was blur in the darkness. His ears were ringing despite the collapse having ended by now.

Then, Ichigo’s eyes finally register the white glowing figure which was walking towards him.

The steps were slow and gracious, just like one could expect from a feline.

Ichigo attempts to move, but his body was far too weakened from the fall and the stumble and whatever the hell that ritual thing had been.

Grimmjow stops, towering above him, and Ichigo presses his back firmly against the rock behind him, blood thundering in his ears.

It was the only sound he could hear aside from the ringing.

The blunet's tail was moving around behind him, whipping around with almost mesmerizing movements, and weirdly, Ichigo was reminded of the times that thing was wrapped around his throat.

Then, as if sensing Ichigo's thoughts, it shoots forward and wraps around Ichigo’s neck once again, like the first time the spirit had come and taken a closer look.

Ichigo brings a hand up to weakly try and pry it off his neck, but he didn’t have the strength to do so. Not that the hold was particularly tight, it was just that the sharp edges on the bone-like armor covering it was unpleasant.

The man crouches to his fours and leans closer, as if examining the ginger.

It was unnerving, and he felt like a prey being measured up by a predator, trying to decide if he was a worthy meal or not.

Suddenly, a noise from behind them catches his attention, and Grimmjow whips his head back to look over his shoulder so fast it did not seem humanely possible.

Perhaps a cat-like move, but definitely not human.

It was the big guy, he’d somehow survived the fall, and was now dusting the debris off from himself, still panting harshly.

He looks at the devastation, clearly shell-shocked, his eyes just sort of glazing over them as if he couldn’t really see the two.

”This is...why did it _fail?_ I was supposed to gain power...”

Ichigo almost wanted to smirk at the bastard; it was clearly whatever plot Kaien had cooked up, it had completely caught the hollow off guard.

A low growl escapes from between Grimmjow’s lips, and Ichigo turns his attention back at the blue haired beast.

That sound was clearly a sign of **_fury._**

The tail leaves Ichigo’s neck slowly, as Grimmjow straightens himself, and begins walking towards Grand Fischer, like a beast intent on killing its prey... or an intruder on its territory.

The big hollow had his back turned towards them at the moment, as he was still taking on the destruction, but upon sensing the threat heading towards him, the male turns around and backs away, eyes widened in fear again.

”M-my _King!_ I was not aware of your survival!”

The hollow stutters out as he backs away, but Grimmjow seems to ignore his words, as he keeps stalking closer, his aura turning more bloodthirsty with each step.

Ichigo just watched the events unfold, his vision turning blurry again slowly.

”I had not intended to steal your power! If I’d known you still existed, I would’ve used my new knowledge to aid you to take revenge on the traitorous Shinigami!”

Grimmjow halts in his step, now just few meters away, and tilts his head, as if curious.

Fischer seems to realize his chance, as he keeps backing away while still running his mouth.

”That’s right! I only endeavored to this path to take revenge on those traitorous humans for what they did to you and your fellow rulers!”

He gestures towards Ichigo, making Grimmjow slowly turn to look at him.

The ginger felt his heartbeat pick up pace, but the blunet’s visage remained stoic.

” _He’s_ the one you should take your anger out on My King; that _brat_ stole your sword and used it as he pleased for months! It’s a sacrilege!”

Grimmjow now turns to face Ichigo, who scrambles up from the floor slowly, unable to move that much due to his weakened state.

Shit, this was bad; it seemed that the giant’s words were actually influencing the blunet.

It wasn’t like he was lying either.

”That’s right; destroy that brat, and I shall aid you in our...your quest for revenge!”

The bastard keeps talking while still backing away, inching towards a tunnel out that hadn’t been blocked by the rubble.

The blunet says nothing, just examines Ichigo quietly.

Behind him, the large hollow had almost reached the way out.

Ichigo’s eyes glance towards him, and that seems to snap Grimmjow out of his weird trance, and he slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder at the fleeing hollow.

Within seconds, the blunet is on him, grabbing the giant by the locks on the back of his head and throwing him against a wall with a fierce growl.

Before Fischer could even get up, Grimmjow _sinks_ his claws deep into his shoulder, making the man howl in pain.

As the blunet rips his claws out, the thick blood spreads in an arc around them, splattering the nearby rocks and the wall with red.

Ichigo watches in horror and macabre curiosity as the blunet grasps the hollows arm next, and literally _rips it off._

The howl turns into a more animalistic shriek, and Ichigo slumps back to the ground, curling up and covering his eyes and ears as the **_furious_** beast tears the giant to shreds.

Eventually the sounds die down, and Ichigo dares a glance towards the scene.

All he could really see was a bloody mess, that was slowly turning to the typical golden ash, as the hollow’s body turned back into spirit particles and merged with the world around it.

Grimmjow was covered in blood, there was bits on his face and hair too, and he licked the stains off his lips, a vicious, wicked grin on his face.

It was probably the most _terrifying_ sight Ichigo had ever seen, and he cannot stop himself from gasping out loud.

The sharp eyes snap at him _instantly_ , and the ginger tries to scramble up again, but his body refused to move.

Had his ancestor taken into account that Grimmjow could perhaps return to the living world in a form like _this?_

It began increasingly seem like he hadn’t.

The blunet stalks back towards him, leaving a bloody trail in his wake.

The few hollows that had still been around had now escaped, after witnessing the brutal end of their leader.

Ichigo manages to push himself away from the rock, but his legs give away before he could do as much as take a step and he is send falling to the floor.

Except, before he could collide with the ground, a white, armor clad arm shoots out and grabs him, spinning him around until he was slumped against a warm body.

A body that was still covered in blood.

Ichigo looks up, finding himself face-to-face with the still beastly Grimmjow, except his pupils were wider now, making him appear much friendlier than he had just moments ago. Even his feline ears were perked up in a less hostile position, making him appear almost curious.

In fact... the bloodthirsty, murderous aura had died down, replaced by something much _calmer,_ even when compared to the casual aura the blunet had carried at times when talking with Ichigo.

It was not the serenity of a person feeling calm and collected at the moment.

It felt more like the content calmness a pet had around their owner, or more accurately, when a predator had deemed something non-threatening and accepted its company.

The hands holding him were careful, making sure Ichigo would not be cut by the blades on them, let alone his long claws.

It was so bizarre, and the ginger had no energy to process it.

So, he slumps his head on the bloodied chest, his vision going black as he lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup.  
> I have three chapters to post today, this is the second.  
> Kitty is FREEEE  
> and Pissy


	18. cleaning the house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet the king  
> the king meets his old friend  
> and punches him in the face

The group had gotten lost in the mazes beneath the palace; apparently even the so-called original residents could not really remember their way around.

Pesche huffs frustrated, searching around for the little girl, worry frantic in his mind.

Renji and Rukia were both attempting to locate the child as well using their senses, but the atmosphere around them was so _thick_ with spiritual energy, they could not even sense each other despite standing side by side.

”Why is the air so thick here?”

The redhead questions, noting that it was a little hard to breathe.

”The caverns going deep underground always have more spiritual particles in them: every hollow is born in a place like this.”

Pesche explains, looking around in the next intersection, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of green from somewhere. Rukia hums, figuring it made sense.

Suddenly, she felt something tug at her gut; it was very faint, but it felt familiar.

She starts heading somewhere, and Renji quickly follows her, asking where she was going.

They enter to a large room with a hole on the ground, and Rukia dashes to the edge, peeking down as his heart beat rapidly in her chest.

”Oh gods, Renji...”

As the redhead looked down, he also saw what had her so shocked. It was Yuzu and Karin, lying at the bottom lf the hole, both of them pale with their veins visible from their skin. It was a clear sign of over-exposure to too much spiritual pressure.

If they didn’t get the two out _quickl_ y, they’d die.

Renji swiftly jumps down and grabs both of the girls, noting that unsurprisingly, Yuzu was worse off.

She was unconscious and her breathing was labored, whereas Karin managed to open her eyes and look at him.

”...Ichi...where’s...”

”We’re gonna find him soon don’t worry, but we gotta get you two home first.”

Renji tells the girl as he hops back out from the hole. The two hollows look at their discovery confused.

”Are those two... _humans?_ ”

Pesche asks in disbelief, and the two Shinigami simply nod, their faces solemn.

”Whyy is there two human kids heere?”

Dondochakka questions confused, scratching his head.

”We do not know for sure why they were brought here, but we sure as hell need to get them back home as soon as possible.”

Rukia tells the two, grasping her tracker device and searching for the spot Urahara had left their portal in. It was really far away.

”We don’t have much time Rukia, you think we can make it?”

The woman glances at the two girls, then at her scanner. It looked bad.

Almost if seeing the answer from her face, Renji curses under his breath, adjusting his grip from the two girls, letting them rest their heads on his shoulders.

”What should we do? We can’t exactly _heal_ this with our abilities, as spiritual healing will just make the exposure worse.”

Rukia remains quiet, at a loss of what to do now.

Suddenly, they hear a loud rumbling noise from ahead, and moments later, the room was flooded with a bunch of hollows, making Pesche shriek out in surprise.

The hollows seemed to be running away from something.

Upon noticing the group however, they stop and glance at each other confused.

”Shit, there’s too many!”

Renji glances at the girls in his arms, then at the two hollows behind them, who looked rather spooked by th sudden influx of hostiles. It was a little strange, given these guys were supposed to have been part of the elite once.

”We better run for now! You cannot fight while holding the girls!”

Renji had to agree with Rukia on that notion, and the group sprints back towards the direction they’d come from, followed by a horde of hungry, snarling and growling hollows. Renji soon found out that it was hard to run while carrying two pre-teen girls, as he was quickly falling behind.

”Shit!” The man exclaims again as he trips, almost falling to the ground.

”Renji!” Rukia skids to a halt and grasps her sword, sending a blast of ice trough it to block the hollow’s path briefly, allowing her friend to gather himself and catch up with them.

”The ice won’t hold for long; I’m still weakened and there are too many of them, we need to go!”

As if cementing her point, the cold wall already began to crack as several hollows pounded against it.

”I could deal with then with Zabimaru, but my hands are full.”

Renji glances behind himself, as more cracks appeared on the wall separating them from the horde. Rukia would not be able to carry both girls by herself, and the two were too weak to run on their own.

”Allow us!”

Pesche suddenly joins in and grabs one of the girls much to the Shinigami’s surprise.

”You’ve been nice to us, and it is very clear these poor souls need to get away from this atmosphere! Dondochakka and I can carry them outside while you deal with that horde!”

Renji looks at Rukia, as if asking whenever they could trust the two. It was risky, handing Yuzu and Karin to a couple of hollows, but these two felt sincere. There had not been a _single_ wisp of malice in them since they met. Renji turns his gaze back at the two and nods.

”Get them the hell outta here, we come and find you once we deal with those things.”

”Once we get the girls home, we still have to find Ichigo - and we can help you to find that little girl in the process.”

The two hollows grow quiet, then start tearing up, bawling their eyes out and commenting on how nice the two were. Their dramatics halt abruptly as the ice wall shatters, and Renji quickly hands Karin over to Dondochakka too, telling them to get the hell outta there already.

The two sprint off, and Renji and Rukia turn to face the enemy.

”Are you sure it was smart of us to hand them over to those two?” Renji questions as he prepares himself for battle.

These hollows were of average level of power, but there were many of them, and this was Hueco Mundo.

”We didn’t have much of a choice; it’s better to have them away from the battlefield given their state.”

Rukia pauses, and strikes the first hollow with her sword, freezing the wound in the process.

”Besides, I doubt anyone could pretend being that obnoxious so well for so long.” She comments with a slight, amused smile dancing on her lips.

Renji had to agree with that, as he hurled his Zabimaru against his nearest opponents.

 

 

The two had got lost while running, which wasn’t surprising.

Good news was that while they didn’t know exactly where they were running, it was clearly up towards the palace as the atmosphere turned lighter slowly, and the girls they were carrying began to look a bit better.

”I hope Nelliel-san is okay and didn’t run into that troublesome bundle.”

Pesche comments while running, cradling Yuzu in his lap.

The girl was breathing easier already, which had to be a good sign.

”Nel-san is faaast. They wouldn’t haave caught her!” Dondochakka reassures his companion, carrying Karin in his back.

They turn a corner and skid to a halt, realizing it was a dead-end; the doorway up ahead was blocked by a pile of rubble.

”Maybe we should have turned to the left from that last intersection...” Pesche muses, looking around and trying to figure out where they were.

It had been _so_ long since he’d been in the palace, and even then he’d barely gone to the catacombs.

A sudden wave of spiritual energy hits them, and the two glance behind them, but saw nothing.

”Whaat should we doooo, heyyy?”

Pesche looks around frantic, trying to come up with something.

It was clear something was heading their way, something highly powerful.

”...We have no choice; we have to use it to clear the path!”

Dondochakka’s eyes widen - which was a feat given how wide and big they already appeared - and asked if he was sure.

”Wee might collapse this thing onto us. We might be fiine, but the Shinigami will get mad if the two get hurt ya know.”

Pesche glances down at the girl he was holding, knowing Dondochakka had a point.

However, handing these two over to whatever was stalking towards them was not a good idea either; Pesche had made a promise to bring them out safely, and he _always_ kept his promises.

”It’s fine; most of the energy of the blast will go outside from here, it should be fine!”

The two put the girls next to a wall in a spot that they hoped would be sturdiest, then prepared themselves. Firing a combined cero in such a cramped space was risky, but they needed to clear the path as there was no other way out. The two get into position and charge their power, illuminating the surroundings with yellow and purple light. They had to be really careful on how much power they’d use, because too much would collapse the whole place on them.

”Just a little more...” Pesche mutters out, focusing intently.

Finally, the two shoot their combined blast, and it hurls trough the air, hitting the large pile of stone ahead. Resulting explosion blinds them for a moment as dust and rock is kicked into the air, and the whole place shakes as if there was an earthquake. The two are knocked off from their feet due to backfire, and for a moment, everything around them was chaos.

Once the dust clears however, the two realize that it had worked; the rubble was gone and the doors too, letting a huge amount of light inside the caverns.

”Wait, where are the...” Pesche looks around frantic, but for their relief, the two were unharmed, the stone they had been sitting behind having protected them from the flying sand and rubble.

The two quickly grab the two girls and run out, heading as far away from the catacomb opening as possible.

After running for a while, the two realize they were heading to a familiar area.

Soon enough, the large, central room comes into view, including the few thrones that still stood amongst the destruction.

”The throne room! Haven’t been here in a while...”

Pesche comments as he looks around, feeling a mixture of nostalgia and sadness hit him.

Most of the thrones had been destroyed; the only ones left were Ulquiorra, Jeagerjaquez and Nelliel and Harribel-san’s seats.

A slight groan gains their attention, and the two realize the black haired girl had stirred.

Dondochakka hurries to put her to the nearest seat, and Pesche places the unconscious sister beside her carefully. For a moment Karin just looks around hazily. Then as her vision clears, she yelps and backs away against the seat, clearly frightened.

The two panic and back away with a yelp too, and for a moment everything was in an awkward stand still.

”....I thiiink she’s afraid of _us_.”

Dondochakka comments after a moment, and Peache blinks, then seems to realize that he was right.

”Ah! Do not be afraid child. Your Shinigami comrades asked us to bring you away from the cavern, they should be here shortly!”

Karin looks between the two hollows, noting that while their appearance was weird, they didn’t really feel that threatening. She relaxes a bit, but still keeps an eye on the two. ”Rukia and Renji? Was Ichi-nii with them?”

The two look at each other, not recognizing the name. It was perhaps the person the two were looking for. 

”No, but I am guessing your brother is here too; those two did say they were looking for a friend.”

Karin frowns, not liking this; she’d last seen Ichigo back when he’d been thrown in their pit. A while later the hollows had dragged him out from there, and then...

Then there had been a blast of energy that had _overwhelmed_ her senses, and rest of it was a blur.

”I’m guessing Ichi-nii is in trouble again.” Karin huffs out, turning her attention to Yuzu who was also stirring now.

She looked better, the veiny markings having disappeared from her face, but she was still pale.

Just like Karin, she freaks out at first upon seeing the two hollows, but calms down after a quick explanation. Her eyes widen in worry however as she realizes that the two Shinigami that had rescued them, neither was their brother.

”Oh gods Karin, what if he’s...he’s...”

”Don’t be silly! Ichigo cannot be defeated by a bunch of weaklings!”

Suddenly, a heavy presence lands on top of them like a weighed down blanket, and the whole group stiffened.

”K-Karin...”

Yuzu mumbles out, holding her head.

For the raven girl’s horror, her nose began to _bleed._

Slowly, they turn to look towards one of the entrances, the one they’d come trough.

Something was walking towards them, something with densely _packed_ spiritual pressure.

Yuzu lets out a high pitched whine and clings to her sister, who moves to sort of sit in front of her protectively, even though she knew she couldn’t really do much to protect her.

”Peesche, this aura...”

The insect looking hollow swallows down nervously. _It couldn’t be,_  he kept telling himself yet again, but yet it was the only possible explanation for this power Pesche felt in the air.

Only one man had this kind of fierce, sizzling aura that felt almost like electricity crackling trough the air.

Moments later, a tall, white figure appears.

Karin gasps in shock, as she’d never seen or felt a hollow like this before.

It looked almost like a feline walking on two legs, with wild blue hair running down its back and a whip like tail moving about behind it.

The black claws were long and sharp, and the black, fur collar made him appear near lion-like.

It was carrying something.

”It...it’s...it IS Jeagerjaquez-San!”

Pesche blurts out, then freezes as the sharp, predator eyes land on him.

However, they quickly drift towards the two girls behind him, and as Pesche glances at them, he makes a startling realization that they’d probably made a _huge_ mistake.

The seat the girls were sitting on had a panther engraved on it.

”Crap. We should _not_ have put them on **his** seat.”

Pesche whispers frantically, and Dondochakka glances up as well, panicking as he understood what his companion meant.

”What shoulda wee doo? Maybe if wee moove them to another oone...”

”Its too late, he’s going to kill us! There’s no stopping the Hunter King when he’s in beast mode!”

Karin listens to their hushed exchange with increasing terror, and she looks up at the beast watching them from the shadows of the hallway entrance.

As their eyes meet briefly, the girl felt like she was staring **death** in the eyes, and quickly averts her gaze, swallowing down nervously.

Then, she suddenly recognizes the bundle the beast was carrying.

It had a bright orange hair, similar to Yuzu’s, only more obnoxious.

_”Ichi-nii!”_

The girl exclaims terrified, realizing just how _bloody_ he looked.

”O-oh no...did that thing...”

Yuzu begins to tear up, realizing what Karin had just a moment ago.

The two hollows turn to look at them, then back at the beast, only now apparently realizing he was holding something over his shoulder.

”Is...that the friend they were looking for?” Pesche asks out loud, examining the figure both curious and uneasy.

There was a lot of blood on the Shinigami robes. If it belonged to the ginger one, he was surely dead or at least on the verge of it. However... Pesche _could_ sense his life-force.

”If that is your brother, he’s alive.”

Karin blinks and turns to look at the insect head.

”I can feel his life force, likely that blood isn’t his.”

”T-then...whose is it?”

Yuzu whispers out quietly, her voice shaky just like her entire body.

The aura from the beast was too much, her nosebleed was getting worse. The beast’s gaze drifts from Karin to Yuzu, and for a moment he just stares at the girl.

”Maaybe we should grab them and ruun?” Dondochakka whispers frantic, but Pesche shakes his head.

”He’s _faster_ than us, especially in that form, we are doomed!”

Suddenly, the beast steps out from the doorway, and the two quickly cling to each other, awaiting for a certain death.

However, the man ignores them, turning to walk away from the scene, taking the intense aura with him.

Slowly, Yuzu began to feel better and his nosebleed stopped, but she kept following the figure with her eyes, worried sick for her brother who seemed so limp.

”What is he dooing?”

Pesche seemed equally confused; normally the Hunter King would attack anybody _instantly_ as soon as he laid his eyes on them when in this chaotic form, but now he seemed to have zero interest on them.

”Where’s that thing taking our brother!?”

Karin demands from the two, trying to stand up so she could go after it. It was probably a stupid idea, but she was not going to let that thing just drag their brother somewhere for a meal or something.

”I...I am not certain, but...”

”Heyy! Ain’t that wheere the springs aare, ya know?”

Dondochakka comments suddenly, and Pesche’s eyes widen slowly, as he realizes his companion was right.

 _Why_ would this version of Jeagerjaquez-san be doing that though?

”What springs, what do you mean?!”

Pesche was honestly surprised how feisty this human girl was, despite her clearly lacking most spiritual abilities. She had managed to force herself to stand, and clearly wanted to head after the beast.

”They are...healing springs. I am not certain if they still work though.”

Karin blinks, surprised about the answer.

She then frowns and attempts to walk down from the thrones, only to collapse on the floor after the first step as she was far too dizzy.

”We need to follow that thing!”

”First off young lady; that ’thing’ is one of our Kings! ....even if I am not entirely sure how aware he is of his surroundings right now.”

_”I don’t care!”_

Karin spats at the two, startling them so badly that Pesche jumps into his companion’s arms. The girl pushes herself up again, clearly intent on following the blue haired figure.

”Karin...it’s too dangerous. That...hollow, or whatever he is, is too powerful..”

Yuzu scolds her sister, although she did want to go as well, worried sick for her brother. That, or she was feeling sick due to her senses still being overwhelmed.

”But we can’t just leave Ichigo there! We don’t even know where Rukia and Renji are!”

A large explosion from somewhere within the palace gains their attention, and the group looks around unnerved, wondering what the hell that was.

”It must be the two Shinigami! At least it feels like it!”

Pesche declares after a moment, wondering what caused the blast.

Likely a combined cero from their opponents.

Then, he senses something else in that direction, and his eyes widen in horror.

”Nelliel-san is there!”

**_”Whaat?!”_ **

The two seem to forget all about the two human girls, as they sprint towards the direction the blast had come from, leaving Karin and Yuzu sitting there, puzzled about all that was going on around them.

Finally, the raven haired girl shakes her head and pushes herself up, noting her legs were no longer so shaky.

She walks back to her sister, checking her.

Yuzu seemed better, her nosebleed was over, but she was clearly exhausted still.

”What should we do, Karin? We can’t save Ichi-nii from that monster, it’s too strong.”

Yuzu asks, her voice borderline sobbing. She was clearly frightened and worried right now, and Karin didn’t blame her one bit. The place they were in was eerie on its own, and knowing about the powerful and scary things lurking inside it made it twice as bad.

”I think, maybe...”

Her thoughts were cut short as the intense spiritual pressure returns, and the two girls freeze, turning to look at the direction that beast had gone with Ichigo. They couldn’t see it yet, but the thing was clearly coming back. Karin quickly turns back to Yuzu and attempts to pull her off the throne.

”We need to go and hide before it comes back!”

”B-but, what if it can sense us regardless?”

”Would you rather stay here like a sitting duck and have it eat us?!”

Yuzu swallows down, her fearful eyes wide, and allows Karin to drag him away, and the two quickly hide behind the large seats, just as the feline beast appears back into the chamber. It was eerie how his steps made no sound, but then again, they were cat paws. It would have been almost _adorable_ , had they not been attached to a terrifying, powerful hollow.

The beast walks past the seats, seemingly not noticing the two hiding behind them, or not caring if it did.

The raven girl realizes the thing was heading to the same direction as those two weirdos had gone. It didn’t matter either way: now their path was clear to go where Ichigo was.

”C’mon, let’s go.”

She whispers and gently tugs Yuzu with her, sneaking trough the shadows towards the place the thing had brought Ichigo to.

Karin hoped to whatever gods her dumb brother was still alive and not just a bloody mess once they found him. As they reach the doorway however, Yuzu loses her footing and stumbles to the floor, making a loud sound. They both freeze and glance towards where the hollow had gone, but they couldn’t see the feline figure anymore.

”I guess it left already.”

Karin sighs relieved and helps Yuzu up.

As they turn their attention back to where they were going, both girls yelp the same time, backing away in fear.

 _Somehow_ , the feline beast had sneaked past them to block their path, and Karin had no clue how the thing had done that, given their surrounding was mainly a large open space.

It _had_ to be either some sort of invisibility, or a teleportation thing.

Karin steps in front of Yuzu protectively, but she was scared as well, trembling where she stood.

The thing just gazed down at them stoic, that expression somehow more terrifying than open hostility.

For a moment everything was dead-quiet around them, and the two girls back away slowly, while the beast made no move. It didn’t have to, if the hollow wanted to eat them, it could do it with a snap of a finger.

No way they could run away from it.

The glowing, golden irises drift from Karin to Yuzu, and the ginger girl freezes, letting out a scared whimper.

Her knees were shaking as the pressure around her was too much, and her nose threatened to bleed again. Then, the hollow suddenly reaches for them, and both squeeze their eyes shut, seeing their short life flashing before their eyes.

A hand lands on top of Yuzu’s head and she freezes, expecting the thing to rip her head off.

Instead, the clawed limb just rests there lightly, and after a short moment, she could hear a _voice_ in her head.

 

_Don’t go in there, kid._

 

”H-huh?”

The girl looks up at the hollow, who just gazes at her stoic. He hadn’t said a word really, but Yuzu could hear someone talking to her.

 

_Yer too sensitive. Where your brother is at, the atmosphere will kill you._

 

Yuzu blinks confused, and Karin looks at her terrified, not being able to hear what she did.

The only reason she didn’t attempt to yank the arm away from her sister was the fact her expression was no longer terrified.

Rather, she seemed to be listening to something. Was the thing talking to Yuzu in her head?

”....What do you mean?”

The ginger manages to mumble out, sounding almost mesmerized. Again, the hollow doesn’t utter out a sound, but the gruff voice she heard earlier replied.

 

**_Just do as I say, kid. Ya two should stay here, it's safer._ **

 

Yuzu flinches a bit as the voice in her head turns a bit angry sounding, but the hand on her head doesn’t tighten it’s grip.

As she examines the hollow, the girl suddenly realizes that there was.... an aura of _sadness_  of sorts emanating from it.

As if it...or rather, he, had lost something, or someone important just now.

”Are you going to go and h-help those two who just ran off? They seemed to know you...”

Suddenly, the blue haired hollow _smirks_ at her, the expression rather terrifying, and the hand on her head drops away, quieting the voice. After that, he simply marches past the two girls, heading where he was originally going. The intense aura flares up from it as the hollow sprints into a run.

The pressure wave from the energy hits the two, knocking them off their feet.

For a moment everything was blurry, but once Karin manages to gather herself, the thing was gone.

Yuzu was sitting on the floor with wide, glazed eyes.

She looked more confused than frightened now however.

”What the hell was that?”

”I...I don’t know. But...he spoke to me. He said we should wait here.”

”So that some hollow can come and eat us? No way, we’re gonna go search for Ichigo!”

Yuzu shakes her head and looks at Karin unsure.

”That hollow.... he said that...the place where he brought Ichi-nii has too much spirit energy in it.”

She didn’t have to explain why that was important; Yuzu’s sensitivity could be lethal in such a place. Karin glances after the beast, swallowing down hard.

”He seemed.... sad.”

Yuzu hums out after a moment of silence, wondering why that beast seemed so upset.

She hadn’t known hollows could feel sadness.

”So, you’re saying we should not go search for Ichigo?”

”I...I don’t think he was lying, he really means it when he said going there was a bad idea for me.”

Yuzu mumbles out, rubbing her wrist slightly. She really didn’t know what to think about what just happened.

While the hollow had looked terrifying, Yuzu had _not_ felt any ill will towards them.

She’d always had a good sixth sense with things like this.

”....What do you wanna do?”

Karin asks, glancing at the direction Ichigo had been brought in. She wanted to find her brother, but if the thing had told Yuzu the truth about the dense atmosphere there, bringing her in that place was an extremely bad idea. She didn’t want to leave her alone there either however.

”...We wait for now. I think...he might be going after those two to...help them. If what they said is true, Rukia and Renji are there too...”

Yuzu wasn’t sure why she felt so, it was just this feeling she had.

Her gut feeling was rarely wrong.

 

 

 

 

Good news; they had found Nel.

Bad news; they were now surrounded by a large group of hollows, and their two Shinigami acquaintances did not look too hot.

The woman was panting heavily, and the hands grasping her sword were shaking. She had felt a little weakened from the start, and whatever had caused that state was clearly taking a toll on her.

The redhead was in better shape, but he was also bleeding and exhausted.

”It’ like these fuckers are _stronger_ here than back at home!”

”You might be right, Renji; this is their home, so it is only natural that the energy here aids and strengthens them.”

Rukia replies between panting.

They had managed to defeat several enemies already, giving them more time to sprint ahead and catch up with the two hollows. Unfortunately, the said duo had then suddenly ran back towards them, with the big guy carrying the girl above his head, followed by another group of monsters descending down the staircase behind them. It seemed like these dungeons were infested by these things; they did not want to go to the palace itself, but had no problem lingering in the stony maze.

Now, they were surrounded again, and the air was so thick with spiritual pressure oozing out from all the damn things combined, weighing down on the two rather heavily.

”Where are Karin and Yuzu?!”

Renji asks from the two as he notes they didn’t have the girls.

”We left them to the throne room; it has less spirit particles so that orange girl should be fine.” Pesche gives him a thumbs up with a confident face, which is undermined almost instantly as his companion suddenly remembers about their come-back-from-the-dead king who’d also somehow appeared there.

”Ahh! _Shit!”_

Pesche panics, realizing that he might have screwed up. His worry for Nelliel-San had just made him momentarily forget about the two.

Plus, surely Jeagerjaquez would not hurt the girls, when he hadn't attacked them in the first place?

Renji glances at Rukia, noting she was extremely worried as well.

Their attention is soon diverted back to the hollows surrounding them, as several leap and attack the two.

Renji swings his sword to deflected the first attack, but the second hollow manages to pin him to the ground, swinging the long claws to try and cut his head off. Renji quickly brings his Zabimaru up to block the attack, and Rukia uses a blast of ice to force the thing off the redhead.

”We don’t have _time_ for this; we need to get to the girls a.s.a.p! Renji, let’s try to carve a path combining our abilities!”

”Are you sure? You’ve been using a lot of energy already..”

the redhead asks unsure, knowing that if they did what Rukia was thinking, it meant she’d have to gather almost every bit of power she had left for this one attack.

”Yes. If we just keep fighting them one by one or group at a time, we’ll just run out of energy and will be devoured; It's better to get away and gather ourselves first!”

The woman had a point.

Renji nods as he jumps up, and swings his sword, letting Zabimaru do its thing; he lets out a loud growl and sweeps a large amount of hollows with his stretchy weapon, while Rukia uses her ice power the same time to freeze the group, efficiently shattering each and every monster.

Her ice also creates walls on either side again to slow the hollows down a bit, giving them time to reach the pathway ahead.

”Let’s go!” Rukia orders the group, her voice a little breathless, and they head towards the staircase ahead.

They sprint across Rukia’s icy tunnel, which was quickly shattering behind them as the monsters kept pounding on it.

It seemed that they would make it.

Except, a wave of dizziness suddenly hit Rukia, and she stumbles to the ground, falling behind from the rest.

Renji skids to a halt and turns just as the wall next to Rukia shatters, and a hollow grasps her throat, sinking it’s claws against her skin.

**_”Rukia!”_ **

Before he could rush back to aid her, another group bursts trough the icy walls and jumps between him and the bastard holding his friend.

”Shit!”

That was really becoming the one-word-summary for this mission.

Rukia struggles against the hold, trying to pry the arm off her throat, but the damn thing was too strong and she was too weakened right now.

”Shit shit shit, _get out of the way!_ ”

Renji spats at the monsters and swipes them with his sword, but the fuckers had wizened up, knowing of the snake-slash-whip like nature of his blade and dodge it, jumping directly at him while it was still extended and knocking the Shinigami to the ground with sheer numbers.

”What should we dooo? Theey need help!”

Dondochakka asks holding his massive face, and the two just sort of look around in panic, not knowing what to do at all.

Nel had been clinging to the big guy this whole time, but as she watches the two struggle against the horde, tears start spilling out from her eyes.

”Stahp...” she mumbles out, wiping her eyes.

The two glance up at her confused, and the next second, the girl lets out a loud cry, loud enough that everything around them _halts._

**_”STOP!”_ **

Everything went quiet, as the hollows freeze and slowly turn to look towards the voice.

Even Rukia and Renji were now looking at the little girl, having not expected such a powerful aura emanate from her. It felt like her words themselves had some sort of ordering tone in them.

However, whatever power it had didn’t last long, as some of the monsters start stalking towards them now, clearly intent on devouring the trio as well.

”Her dominance isn’t strong enough in this state!”

Pesche yelps and backs away as the nearest hollow attempts to grab his leg.

_”Get outta here you three!”_

Renji orders them while throwing off a couple of the bastards clinging to him.

They had no reason to stick by and try to help them; they’d found the person that mattered already, and would just die if they stayed.

”But...”

A blast of ice sends hollows flying, and they turn to look at Rukia, who’d managed to freeze her attacker. She was panting heavily, bleeding from the injuries on her neck and shoulder, and leaning against her zanpakuto heavily.

Still, her eyes burned with an impressive amount of determination.

”Go! You’ve done enough for us even if you didn’t have to.”

The two glance at each other, then at Nel who was still sobbing.

The Shinigami had a point; they had no actual reason to help.

Still...

” _No!_ We promised to keep those two girls safe, and we cannot do so if we let you two die here!”

Pesche declares with sudden conviction in his voice, even if his legs were shaking. He reaches for his pants - making everybody stare at him in shock - and pulls out a sword that had a glowing blade.

”Nelliel-sama would never forgive us if we let new friends just go and die!”

”I agree ya know!”

Dondochakka declares, and digs something out of his giant mouth, a club with spikes in it. He then puts the confused girl down and places her on a rock nearby.

”Stayy safe Nel-san. If any of those meanies try ta get ya, ruunn, okay?”

The girl doesn’t have time to say anything, as the two hurry ahead and lunge themselves amidst the battle. The green haired girl watches in horror as the two attempt to take out the giant horde they were facing, in order to aid the two Shinigami they’d just befriended.

The girl knew that while her brothers were strong, they would not be strong enough.

They’d die.

Nel’s new friends would die too.

Then Nel would get eaten.

Her vision turns blurry with tears again, and she begs everyone to stop, but whatever she’d done earlier did not work anymore; nobody heard her.

”Please stahp! Nel dun want you to die!”

Her voice fell on deaf ears, as Dondochakka and Pesche bravely waved their weapons around, trying to get the creatures off them.

The Shinigami were trying to help, but they were constantly blockaded by a barrage of hollows.

It was clear the two were exhausted, especially the poor lady who’d already been running low.

”Help.... _Nel’s friends need help!_ ”

The girl sobs, staining to rock she sat on with tears and snot.

Suddenly, one of the hollows thrown nearby her spots the girl, and a large grin appears on its face as it tries to reach for what it thought as an easy meal. Nel backs away against the wall as the claws reach for her.

_”Nel dun want to be eaten!”_

She shrieks out, her voice reaching her struggling companions, who look up towards her with horror.

 

Suddenly, a hand grasps the arm reaching for the little child, and the hollow is violently yanked back.

The next second, blood spills into the walls as the attacker _rips_ the creature’s arm off, before throwing it down to the rest of the chaos.

Nelliel looks up in shock, finding a familiar silhouette standing beside her.

”Gwimm...jow?”

The feline beast doesn’t say anything, just glances at her disinterested.

The chaos below them halts, as the hollows sense the sudden, immense threat that had entered the area.

Rukia and Renji look up as well, recognizing the figure as something similar looking that Ichigo had turned into when he’d been possessed.

”Is that...?”

Before Renji could finish his sentence, the beast lets out a fierce _ **roar**_ , and the resulting pulse of energy forces the nearest hollows back, cracking and _destorying_  their masks.

Rest back away in fear, letting go of the shinigami and the two others they’d been trying to devour.

The feline beast starts walking down towards them, his paws not making a sound as he did so. Yet, the aura he carried intensified each second he came closer.

_”What the hell is that thing?”_

Renji whispers, convinced that this being was _not_ in fact a possessed Ichigo.

”I don’t know, but it seems these guys are afraid of it.”

Indeed, all around them, the hollows were backing away, bowing their heads in fear and respect.

They could hear a chant going around silently, as if the creatures were repeating words in their own tongue.

The being stops nearby injured Dondochakka and Pesche, both were panting heavily and bleeding from the wounds inflicted on them.

Upon noticing what was standing nearby, both freeze, then bow down in a sign of respect, like the rest of the hollows.

”What the hell are they doing?”

Rukia frowns, then her eyes widen as her brain starts to connect the dots.

The blue haired figure looked _familiar._

”I think...that beast may be one of those figures portrayed in the murals.”

Not just any figure; this...it had to be _that_ person, the person deeply connected to this whole situation with Ichigo.

He looked different from the mural Pesche had shown them, let alone most they’d seen earlier on, but there was no mistaking the wild blue hair.

That feline beast had to be the _original_ owner of the blue zanpakuto, the sword Ichigo had been carrying around.

 _Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez,_ was it?

 

Suddenly, the beast’s face twists into a bloodthirsty grin, and Rukia tenses, realizing he was looking straight at _her._

The next moment, it reaches a hand up and grasps the crown like mask above his eyes... and **tears it off.**

Pesche and Dondochakka stare up at him in shock, and it was understandable; normally shattering a mask meant death for hollow.

However, instead, the figure starts glowing as his armoring disappears, replaced by the outfit he was usually portrayed with on the murals.

His hair shortens, and as his eyes open again, they were blue and sharp.

The mask materializes again, though this time as a jaw-bone stuck to the side of his face, making him appear more like his mural depictions.

"Don't fuckin' need that ta deal with this mess." The man mutters out as he checks himself, almost like he did not expect to be able to see his body or something like that.

”Grimmjow-San!”

Pesche exclaims, but the blunet ignores him completely, still glaring at the two Shinigami with a shit-eating grin on his face.

There was a hint of _anger_ in it too, like the man was having a seriously bad day right now. or maybe it was his default expression, Rukia wouldn't be too surprised about that.

”Didn’t I stab ya once?”

Rukia blinks, then realizes the man was talking to her.

”So it was you! You possessed Ichigo to do all that shit!” Renji growls at him, but he remains wary.

This man....he was powerful.

Renji could feel the aura weighing down on him, and given the fact the bastard had managed to force such an enormous group of hollows to literally bow and kneel for him.... He was _clearly_ some sort of King here, like what Pesche had described about him and the rest.

The only hollow around them that did not seem to be affected by his immense aura was the girl sitting up ahead of them. She was just staring at the blunet with widened eyes.

”T’was an accident, technically.”

The blunet shrugs, as if what he’d done before wasn’t a big deal.

”I don’t see how one can possess a person by accident.”

Grimmjow gives the raven woman a bored look, as if she’d said something extremely stupid. This guy clearly had an arrogant aura to him, which further fit with the idea that he used to be a royalty of sorts.

”Don’t matter either way.”

”Where’s Ichigo!? The fuck did you do with him?!”

Renji demands, taking a step forward.

The blue bastard has the gall to dig his ear bored, as if he had no interest in what Renji was saying.

”Hey! I’m talking to you you shithead!”

”Yeah? All I hear’s some ant mumbling about.”

The man flashes a lazy smirk, and Renji’s face was turning the same color as his face out of sheer anger. Suddenly, a hand grasps his sleeve, and the redhead looks down at Rukia, who was giving him a warning look.

”Calm down Renji; he’s clearly just trying to provoke you.”

”No shit; yer buddy is so easy to trigger, it’s hilarious.”

Grimmjow comments matter-of-factly, then glances around at the hollows surrounding them.

The creatures kept their gaze to the ground, clearly too afraid to make eye-contact.

”Tsch. So many rats in the house.”

He mutters out after a moment, turning his gaze back at the two Shinigami, namely Rukia.

”Ya might wanna prepare yerself, or this’ll knock you out too, woman.”

Before Rukia could even begin to question what the man was referring to, his eyes start glowing bright blue, and he lets out another roar, except this sounded more like actual words, an **_order_ ** spoken directly to the creatures around them. It reminded of the outburst Nel had let out earlier, but had much more power and dominance behind it.

As the man had warned, once that intensely powerful aura hits her, Rukia falls to the ground, holding her head.

She could now remember what this ability was called, though had never seen anybody possess it; _spiritual dominance._

Spiritual abilities split into three categories.

 **Power** was everything used as an attack or defense in a physical sense; the energy balls they could fire, the abilities their swords possessed, all that was power-based.

 **Sensitivity** referred to one’s ability to feel spiritual energy and things that possess it. One could be powerful with their own abilities, but unable to sense other beings, and vice versa.

The third category that she could recall from Hachigen’s lessons, was apparently thought to have gone extinct by now: **Will.**

The ability to dominate others with your own mind.

It was not mind-control as Hachi had explained, it was simply your willpower dominating over others.

Whatever the blunet was doing right now, it was _clearly_ an ability of will.

Renji watched in shock as the hollows around them began to back away and run, escaping to whatever direction they could. Some weaker ones simply collapsed to the ground, turning into dust almost instantly.

He looks up at the glowing blunet, suddenly a little terrified.

He could feel the pressure against his own mind, but he was able to resist it, not falling on his knees.

Likely someone as stubborn as Rukia could’ve resisted it too, had she not been weakened right now.

The two hollows that had been slumped right in front of him were seemingly unaffected, either because they were resistant, or the man was intentionally not targeting them. While he also wasn't targeting the two Shinigami either, the man clearly didn't bother to avoid the two per say.

Looking up, Renji noted that the little girl seemed to be fine too, just watching in awe as the place emptied out as the hollows fled so they would not be crushed under their King’s willpower.

Finally, as last leave the area, Grimmjow closes his eyes and the pressure lifts, leaving both Renji and Rukia panting.

Shit, his nose was bleeding, and Renji was certain it hadn’t been doing that earlier.

”What the fuck are you?”

He manages to ask the blunet, who just grins at him almost angrily.

” _Like ya have the right to even ask,_ fuckin’ backstabbing Shinigami.”

Renji blinks, not understanding what the hell he meant.

”B-but, Grimmjow-san! They have nothing to do with what happened all those years...”

**”I know.”**

The blunet cuts Pesche off shortly, and the man lets out kind of amusing squeak, backing away under that glare.

He then lifts his gaze to examine the two Shinigami stoic, before letting out an annoyed sigh, pointing behind him.

”The two brats are in the throne room. Kurosaki’s taking a dive in a pool.”

”Pool, what the hell does that even...”

Renji never gets a reply, as the girl suddenly gains their attention. She’s slid off her rock and walked to Grimmjow, who turns his gaze down at the small child, who was looking up at him with wide eyes. Then, she begins to smile as her eyes tear up - strangely enough, her reaction was much more subdued than what they had been before - and the toddler _hugs_ his leg, an action that freaks the fuck out of the two Shinigami, convinced this bastard would perhaps harm her.

”Nel knew you were alive. Pesche and Dondochakka didn’t listen...”

Grimmjow remains quiet for a long moment, then snorts, shaking his head.

”What’s with you always gettin’ so touchy feely. Yer exactly like Kaien, I swear.”

That name stirred some memories in Renji’s brain.

......Surely this hollow bastard could not be referring to _that_ Kaien.

Nelliel just gives the man a toothy grin, still clinging to his leg.

It was clear that the little child was strangely _happy_ to see this rude bastard, and Renji couldn’t really understand why.

”Could you perhaps show us where Ichigo and his sisters are?”

Rukia asks politely as she gets up, making Renji look at her with a frown.

”Just because this guy used to be some sorta ruler, you don’t have to be polite!”

The woman just gives him a look. Grimmjow actually lets out a slight amused laugh, making them both to turn and look st him confused.

”Yer buddy’s right, woman. I don’t really give a shit if yer polite or not. Starrk, Barragan, Harribel n’ this lil shit were into it, but I ain’t.”

While referring to Nel as a ’little shit’ the man plants a hand on top of her head. One could take the gesture as threatening given that’s where her mask was, but the girl did not seem to be bothered by it, just giving Grimmjow a pouty look at the insult.

”Nel is not shit, Nel dun smell that bad.”

”Fuckin’ hell. Can’t wait till yer back to normal, the shit you spew out of your mouth is bloody embarrassing.” The blunet grunts at her, though Rukia noted there was a tiny bit of...fondness in it, if that was possible.

Grimmjow shakes Nell off his foot - albeit almost gently - and nods towards the stairs.

”You wanna go see yer carrot top buddy or not?”

The two glance at each other, not knowing if they could trust this man or not.

”That’s _my line_ , Shinigami.”

Grimmjow snarls at them all of a sudden as if guessing their thoughts, his gaze hiding behind what seemed to be a very old and strong grudge, Rukia noted as she examined the glare aimed at them.

He held it in for now for some reason however.

 

 

 

* * *

_Ichigo was not the only one, that Kaien talked to, during that moment_

 

 

_When he’d regained consciousness, Grimmjow found himself back in the damn dream-scape palace._

_Except, something was different._

_He no longer felt like there were invisible chains on him._

_Not only that, but there was a figure standing there with him. Grimmjow’s eyes widen, as he recognizes the horned hollow._

_”What the fuck’s going on?” He mutters out, then tenses as the white thing takes a step forward._

_However, instead of attacking him like last time he’d seen this form, the hollow reaches for his mask and removes it, revealing the very face he never thought he’d see ever again._

_Well, with that hairdo anyway._

_”Grimmjow. I can finally reach you.”_

_The fucker sounded so bloody happy._

_He was there._

_Grimmjow had no clue how, but Kaien was standing in front of him, smiling like he always did, his spiritual aura dancing around him calmly like it had in the past._

_The bastard was right there._

_That stupid, idiotic, reckless, shithead of a Shinigami._

_Something boiled over inside his brain upon seeing his stupid face again, and Grimmjow couldn’t stop himself._

_He swung his fist and punched the bastard right in his goddamn face, making the coal haired shinigami stumble backwards surprised._

_”What the hell were you thinking?!”_

_It takes Kaien a moment to understand why Grimmjow was so angry. For all these years, the blunet had had something to say to him, something that was now spilling over and coming out without any limitations._

_”Goin’ off by yerself, hunting down that bastard, then using this goddamn form when you NEVER learned how to control it!”_

_The blunet grabs his collar and shakes the man, his voice coming out a snarl._

_”I could not let him get away with what he did! I was the only one with enough power to..”_

_”The HELL you were!”_

_Grimmjow cuts him short, throwing the bastard against a wall, holding him up so his feet no longer touched the floor. Kaien knew he should've expected this reaction, he'd seen Grimmjow mutter all of this out by himself at times._

_It was only natural that while he was trapped, Grimmjow could still have sensed what he was doing trough the link they shared._

_”I never fuckin’ asked you to do something that stupid or try to avenge me!”_

_”You would’ve done the same for me.”_

_”I’M NOT YOU, YOU DUMB FUCK!”_

_His snarl was so loud that it echoed all around them, and his aura spiked, forcing Kaien to stop his protests and watch his friend, who was shaking now. The blunet wasn’t even sure himself why his first reaction had been... this._

_It was true that back then...back when he felt all that go down, he’d wanted to yell at Kaien for his stupidity. He'd wanted to do this for a long time since._

_Still, it was probably not the reaction the man had expected after being able to finally reunite with his friend, even if Grimmjow had no clue how he’d done it._

_Was he wrong for being mad right now?_

_The struggle was visible on his face too, making Kaien smile almost sadly. Grimmjow did not know how to react right now, how he should react; as long as Kaien had known him, the man did not really know how to deal with certain emotional situations, often resulting in a hostile response like this one. It didn't necessarily reflect how the man truly felt right now, hence he was struggling with how to deal with seeing his old friend again._

_He could tell Grimmjow was trying to hold back his anger, as part of him was questioning if it was a proper response to this situation right now._

_A hand reached out to squeeze Grimmjow’s shoulder, and Kaien looks at him understanding._

_”You are allowed to feel angry right now. In fact, it is likely what you truly feel over what I did.”_

_Grimmjow drops him to the floor like he was burned and backs away, pacing around and huffing like a caged animal._

_Kaien just watches him do this for a while, until he finally breaks the silence. He understood why his friend was in turmoil right now, even after all these years, he still did._

_”I’m sorry, for doing something reckless. Stopping Aizen at that point, perhaps it was futile as damage was already done, but I had to do it.”_

_”No you fucking didn’t! Ya could have let rest of yer buddies to deal with Aizen! Ya basically abandoned yer wife and unborn kid chasing after that bastard!”_

_Grimmjow points at him almost accusingly, and the coal haired man flinches a bit upon hearing that._

_”I did not do it out of revenge - not purely - if we would have let Aizen get away with what he did, he could’ve become a dangerous influence. Those not aware of the delicate balancing nature of your world could have tried to invade it and destroy rest of the hollows in a foolish attempt to purge the problem altogether.”_

_Grimmjow remains quiet; he sort of followed that logic. If some dumb shithead would’ve started going around killing even more hollows in their home turf, all it would’ve meant that more empty bubbles of spiritual energy would appear, larger bubbles that would allow more powerful hollows to be born en masse._

_Too much powerful hollows would cause Hueco Mundo to spill over its boundaries._

_Still..._

_”Can ya honestly look me in the eye and say you tried to take out Aizen out of fuckin’ duty?”_

_Grimmjow asks quietly and looks at Kaien directly. The man holds his gaze. For a moment, then he diverts it, his hair coming to shadow his eyes._

_”...Who’d have thought one day you’d be the one scolding me about bad moral decisions.”_

_He chuckles weakly after a moment._

_”.....Ta be fair, havin’ Shiro in yer body might’ve influenced yer decision making. Even your brain isn’t that dumb.”_

_Grimmjow comments after a moment, his voice about as quiet._

_Kaien laughs at the jab, but it was a teary laugh. He moves closer, and Grimmjow doesn’t even try to stop him, as the bastard slumps to cling to him, hiding his face against his shoulder._

_”I’m sorry. This whole thing...it’s my fault. Aizen used me to get information on the secret passages you revealed to me. He would have never made it to the palace unseen had I not...”_

_”Don’t be a dumbass martyr; I told you about them despite it obviously being a dumb idea.”_

_Grimmjow mutters out, all of his earlier anger deflating away from his body._

_”Still. After my soul also became partially trapped, I tried to reach you for so long...but I couldn’t. The damned seal Aizen used made you unable to hear or see me.”_

_Grimmjow remains quiet, feeling something unpleasant twist in his gut._

_He understood what those words implied, and he hated the feeling it caused in him._

_He’d thought he’d been lonely._

_Grimmjow couldn't even imagine how Kaien had felt, being able to see him suffer but unable to reach him in any way._

_”Then...that boy, he found you. I don’t know how, but his spiritual pressure, it helped me free partially. I could observe Hueco Mundo and the human realm, even if I couldn’t affect anything much at first.”_

_Kaien sucks in a deep breath and backs away, still squeezing his shoulders with a frown on his face now._

_”I heard about Grand Fischer’s plans. I realized I could use it to perhaps help you free.”_

_”So ya endangered yer descendant for yer own goal? That don’t sound like ya.” Kaien shakes his head with a deep frown._

_”No, I’d never do that! The spell I showcased to Fischer was simply going to pull out the energy I’d given to him out of his body, it was never going to touch him in any way.”_

_Grimmjow lifts eyebrow at that. He did what?_

_Kaien goes quiet, his expression turning slightly solemn as he casts his gaze aside._

_Suddenly Grimmjow could tell he was not gonna like what he had to say next._

_”In order for you to gather enough spiritual particles to form a new body, I had to return ’Shiro’ to you. I could not do it directly given the seal Aizen put on both of us unknowingly, hence I needed Ichigo and his unusually strong resonance with you to get around the problem. However, the more I observed the situation, the more I understood that it would not be enough.”_

_That’s when Grimmjow noticed that Kaien was slowly becoming transparent._

_His eyes widen, and he glares at his friend angrily, demanding to know **what the hell** he’d done now._

_”Grand Fischer was correct about one thing; Ichigo is truly a vessel which can help channeling energy from one thing to the other, even souls. It’s not the only reason why I decided to help him in his quest to learn more about you, though.”_

_Kaien slowly lifts his gaze, smiling at Grimmjow almost sadly._

_The blunet felt his blood freeze in his veins, metaphorically, as he suddenly got what was going on._

_Hollows were born from dense bubbles of spirit particles._

_That was why they had no parents._

_Hueco Mundo WAS their parent in a way._

_A hollow’s body was formed from spiritual energy._

_Hollows devoured others to strengthen their own body, by merging their spiritual particles with their own, at least the weaker ones. Those like Grimmjow were born with such dense amount of spiritual particles, that it rendered the need for devouring others meaningless. Usually anyway, his situation right now was.... different._

 

_Kaien was literally letting Grimmjow **devour** his soul willingly, turn it into spirit dust he could use to reform himself._

 

 

_He grabs the bastard’s shoulder and shakes him, snarling at him loudly._

_”Are you fucking crazy?! If you do this there’s no turning back! Yer soul’s gone forever!”_

_”It’s the least I can do to atone from my sins.”_

_Kaien states calmly, clearly not terrified of the prospect of just fucking disappearing one bit._

_”What about yer damn wife?! Ya always said that if her sickness woulda take her before ya, she’d be waitin’ for you!”_

_”I think.. she’d understand. There are bigger forces at play right now, than just you and me. Hueco Mundo NEEDS their King for what is to come. My soul is a small sacrifice to make in a grand scheme of things.”_

_”I don’t fucking care! King or not, Hueco Mundo can’t fuckin’ be managed by ONE person!”_

_Shit, he started to sound near hysteric now, but the blunet couldn’t stop himself._

_He could not let this dumbass do this._

_He shouldn’t._

_” **That’s why** I want you to help Ichigo. He doesn’t know it, but he holds the key with what is to come in the future. He is...connected to the enemy looming ahead, a connection that can be of help.” _

_What the fuck did that even mean?_

_Kaien just smiles at his confused expression, lifting his hand to place it on his shoulder again._

_The touch was meek, one could barely feel it._

_”He can help you restore enough balance to Hueco Mundo so the worst won’t happen. In turn, you can help him awaken what has been sleeping in him since birth, and hopefully prevent the storm heading our way.”_

_**”I have no fucking clue what yer saying!”** _

_Grimmjow snarls at him, noting that his eyes were prickling._

_Shit, was he **crying?**_

_He’d never done that before, at least not in front of anyone._

_Looking up at Kaien, he wasn’t faring much better though, his eyes shiny with tears._

_The shinigami shakes his head, grasping his shoulders again. The grip was surprisingly firm this time, especially considering he was almost completely see-trough now._

_”We don’t have time to argue about this. **Please** just listen what I have to say, if only this one last time.” _

_He was near begging now, his tone frantic. Grimmjow felt a heavy weight land on him, as his mind finally begun to accept that he couldn’t stop this dumbass from sacrificing himself._

_He was already fading._

_He wanted to yell at the fucker, punch him till he knocked it off, but he knew it was too late._

_So, Grimmjow nods quietly._

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the light dissipated, he found himself crouched on a some sort of altar, in his more beastly form.

The only difference was, he felt a level of _control_ with it right now.

Perhaps because even this side of him was grieving, not wanting to go on a rampage.

He was gone, actually gone, this time.

Grimmjow hated the aching feeling in his chest, he always had. This time it was worse than ever, perhaps because what Kaien did was BULLSHIT.

Yet...after the man had explained him his reasons, Grimmjow understood.

he hated it, but he _understood._

There was a voice nearby.

A voice questioning what was happening.

He opens his eyes and takes in the situation. Kurosaki was there, looking disheveled, weakened by whatever these things had done. There were so many _rats_ there, in this place.

His home.

Anger began to seep into his being again, and Grimmjow lets it.

He lets his animalistic side gain control, standing up slowly. He could not bring back what he just lost, but he might as well take his anger out and clean the house.

Fuck it if it was the right or wrong thing to do.

Grimmjow **roars** , a sound promising of bloodshed and violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew.  
> There you have it. Three chapters written in one weekend.  
> I have no clue how long the next one will take, it depends on how busy school keeps me.  
> Hope you enjoyed these three.
> 
> Kaien-Grimm bromance made me tear up a little, especially when writing the last bit of this chapter.  
> my tear-ducts are wayy too sensitive.


	19. calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the last three chapters basically.  
> sort of calm-before-the-storm chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I actually already linked this pic of Grimmjow's look in this story that I made in another story of mine, but given it relates directly to this one, I figured I might as well put it here too.  
> ....I kinda feel like I need to adjust his nose here though. I just haven't gotten to it yet.
> 
> https://lumilasi.tumblr.com/image/171588491741  
> Sorry, don't know how to link stuff properly here, so you can just copy-paste the url to check the pic if you want

The two did not know how long they had waited.

While sort of hiding in the shadows of the large thrones, they had felt a large wave of spiritual pressure emit from somewhere within the palace, although it was far enough to not cause Yuzu any trouble. The two look around uneasy, not knowing what that had been just now. It sort of reminded Yuzu of the feline beast, indicating that perhaps he’d done something.

As time passed, they eventually could hear footsteps heading towards the throne room.

The two girl tense, and Karin peeks past the chair they hid behind, looking towards the doorway the sound was coming from. Soon enough, a familiar pair appear in sight; Karin could recognize Renji’s glaringly red hair _anywhere._

He was supporting Rukia, indicating the short woman was injured somehow, although Karin couldn’t spot that much blood on her.

They were followed by the two weird looking hollows, who seemed kind of miffed about something, grumbling under their breaths.

”Renji! Rukia!”

The two turn to look at Karin who scrambles out of her hide, followed by Yuzu who also seemed relieved to see them.

”Thank goodness you two are okay.” Rukia smiles at the raven girl who rushes to them, checking her concerned.

The only nasty looking injury was the bruising on her neck, so perhaps her weakened state was more of a spiritual issue.

” _What the heck happened?_ We were hiding there and suddenly there was this huge energy blast....”

Her voice is cut short as she sees the final person appearing from the darkness.

She _knew_ it was the same hollow they’d seen before, except he no longer looked like a monster.

He was tall, slightly taller than her brother perhaps, and his blue hair was still wild, even if shorter. The eyes were sharp like earlier, but instead of the usual gold and black, they were blue, somehow **more** catlike than in the beastly form.

The girl also spots what had the two hollows grumbling - though Karin herself did not know it was the reason just yet - there was a green haired little girl sitting on his shoulders, looking ridiculously happy. The man had the kind of tired look a parent or older sibling would make when they were too done to call out the little one’s antics, too used to it.

Having that child there made him less scary looking, but only a little.

”T’s like yer whole family has a staring fetish.”

Karin blinks, taken aback by the fact the man _actually_ spoke to her, given how bored and disinterested his expression was.

She could hear Yuzu gasp a little, indicating that the voice was the same one she’d heard before. Karin frowns and is about to retort, when Rukia grasps her shoulder, giving her a warning look.

”Let’s just go get your brother.”

Rukia turns her gaze at the blunet, who reaches up for Nelliel, dropping her unceremoniously to the floor. The girl rubs her butt and pouts, and Dondochakka quickly grabs her off the floor onto his back for a piggyback ride.

”Grimmjow-San! I know she might look like a child right now, but...”

” **Shut the hell up.** M’not on the mood right now.”

Pesche closes his mouth with an audible sound, sensing the seething anger beneath those words.

He had no clue what had happened to the man, but he was _clearly_ in a dangerously bad mood.

As in, worse than normal. Grimmjow says nothing, just starts heading somewhere with hands in his pockets.

”...I suppose that’s where Ichigo is.” Rukia concludes, and Renji takes a step forward with her to head after the man.

”The brat can’t come.” Grimmjow comments without turning to look at them, and the two Shinigami pause confused.

”Um...he said earlier that the place has too much spiritual energy...”

Yuzu mutters, and Rukia frowns, understanding the problem if that was true.

They honestly should just send the girls home ASAP. However, Urahara’s portal was very far away, and they were still too weak to really start heading out there, amongst the hollows roaming the sands. The palace was probably the safest place to be in right now, given how the blue haired man was able to literally force any wandering ones to fuck off, or turn them to dust.

”Well, maybe she can wait just outside the doorway, or? We’re not leaving Yuzu alone in this place.” Karin questions uncertain.

”...Renji, why don’t you and Karin go see Ichigo. I can wait here with Yuzu.”

The redhead frowns, asking if she was sure. The healing springs - if they did exist - could come in handy for her too. The short woman just nods, telling Renji that her injuries weren’t that bad.

”Besides, having _Karin_ berate Ichigo for his stupidity is enough; you won’t need me.”

The woman smirks, gaining an eyeroll from Renji, who then proceeds to gently make her sit on the stairwell in leading to the thrones. Yuzu walks there to sit beside her, clearly a little concerned still.

”Is it...safe for us to follow that guy though?”

Karin questions Renji, who shrugs, honestly not knowing. He’d rather have both siblings stay behind with Rukia, but both he and the short woman knew there was no way Karin would just wait until Renji brought Ichigo to them.

”He hasn’t tried to kill us yet.” The redhead mumbles out, holding onto his zanpakuto just in case as they head to the direction Grimmjow had gone to.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo felt like he was floating, in something warm.

His surroundings were not white this time, but not fully black either. It felt more like he was floating in the night sky, with a deep dark blue hue to it. He felt...pretty okay, no pain, no aching, nothing. The ginger’s mind was kind of foggy, as he tried to recall just what had happened.

He could remember a lot of noise and dust, lots of white, and Grimmjow....

Suddenly, his brain clears up, as he recalls what happened.

The ritual, Kaien, Grimmjow had appeared.

He’d been freed from the sword because of the ritual.

Then he’d...

Ichigo’s eyes open, and he abruptly realizes he was underwater panicking, Ichigo starts flailing his arms about, trying to reach the surface, but in his panic he couldn’t tell which way was up.

Tons of bubbles left his mouth as his air escaped his lungs.

_....wait._

Ichigo stops his movements, as he abruptly realizes that he could breathe.

His surroundings did feel like water, warm water, but it did _not_ feel like it was invading his lungs.

Plus...the amount of spiritual essence around him was really high.

Where the hell was he?

Suddenly, something breaks the water-surface and grabs his collar, and the next second, Ichigo is roughly yanked up from the depths, making him gasp and cough reflexively as he reaches the open air, even though he wasn’t even drowning.

Ichigo comes face-to-face with **blue.**

Sharp, blue eyes were staring at him amused, and they looked very real. In fact, the hand grasping his collar was warm, much warmer than it had ever been when Grimmjow had touched him before.

”Ya done with yer bubble bath, princess?”

Ichigo just blinks, having no clue what the hell was going on. Grimmjow just snorts with an eye-roll and drags him away from the water completely, dropping Ichigo to the floor, sprawled like a starfish.

Grimmjow just smirks down at him, then steps back, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and Ichigo could have sworn he’ d said _’all yours’_ to somebody.

”Ichigo!”

The ginger looks up and for his immense relief, this time the voice was **real.**

His relief changes into the feeling of 'oh shit' once he spots Karin standing in front of him, hands in her hips and with a furious glare on her face.

”Uh...”

” _What the hell were you thinking?!_ Rushing here without plan and back-up! Be glad you didn’t go and _die!_ ”

The girl scolds him fiercely while shaking her brother so that water droplets flew all around them. Renji just watched the sisterly onslaught with an awkward smile, whereas the blunet seemed highly amused by what he saw, although Renji could tell that the man was still pissed off about something.

It was this silent seething his spiritual pressure did that indicated what his true mood was.

It was a weird thing to sense as it wasn’t _purely_ anger, but also some sort of sorrow, which Renji would not have guessed a guy who looked and acted like this was capable of.

Once Karin was done, she just slumps to sit beside Ichigo with a huff, and the ginger rolls on his back, muttering out an apology while he waited the room to stop spinning.

”Yuzu is okay too. She is with Rukia in that throne room.”

Karin mumbles after a while, and Ichigo turns to look at her questioningly.

”The blue haired hollow said this place could overwhelm her.”

Ichigo blinks, then manages to turn his head towards Grimmjow, who was now looking at him with a stoic expression. A small smile cracks on his lips.

”Thanks. Yuzu could have really been in trouble if you hadn’t warned them.”

”I’ve noted yer bloodline has the tendency to either be stupid or oversensitive and _stupid_.”

Renji glares at the man, but for his surprise Ichigo just chuckles a bit, until his face turns strangely solemn.

The ginger pushes himself up slowly with Karin’s help, noting that his injuries were gone now. Glancing at the faintly flowing pond in front of him, Ichigo figured it was some sort of healing spring.

How did he end up there?

Then again... he probably knew the answer already.

He turns his brown eyes back towards the blunet, sincere sympathy coloring his expression.

Perhaps Grimmjow wouldn’t like it, but Ichigo couldn’t help himself.

”I’m sorry.”

Renji blinks, confused about what the hell his friend was talking about, but the blunet seemed to understand it as he frowns a bit, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

"What that moron did has nothing to do with you."

Ichigo blinks surprised that the man knew instantly what he was referring to without the need of an explanation; so... Kaien had spoken to Grimmjow as well before passing?

"He did." Grimmjow replies, as if reading his thoughts, still looking miffed about Ichigo's pointless apology.

 ”.........I know I had nothing to do with it, its...an expression of sorts.”

Ichigo explains with a sigh.

He still could not believe his ancestor would pull such a stunt. While he did not really know the man personally per say, Ichigo could imagine just how upset Grimmjow had to be right now. He could feel it from the aura the man was putting off.

Renji probably caught a glimpse of it, but Ichigo was more sensitive, and resonated with the man so he could feel _all_ of it.

The blunet seemed calm to anyone looking, but Ichigo could feel he was holding back a some sort of breakdown, be it violent or... something else.

”Uh...Ichigo, there’s a lot you need to explain to us.”

Renji pipes in and the ginger nods, rubbing his head.

”I know, I just...”

he looks at Grimmjow uncertain, as if asking permission.

”Go _right_ fuckin’ ahead. It don’t matter either way.”

The blunet mutters out and leaves the wall, walking out of the opposite door to the one they’d come in from.

”Where the hell are you going?”

Renji questions suspiciously, but Ichigo gives his friend a scolding look, and his next words are quiet and soft.

”He just lost a close friend, who sacrificed himself to bring him back. Please give him space.”

Renji blinks confused, but then just nods, not really wanting to trigger a fight.

 

 

After a few more moments, Ichigo manages to pull himself up off the floor with Renji and Karin’s help, and they head to the throne room to greet Rukia and Yuzu as well. The girl was really glad to see her brother, hugging him tightly and sobbing all over his shinigami robes. Ichigo just chuckles awkwardly and pats her head, telling he was fine.

The trio of hollows were watching the situation from the side, but figured they should stay out of it; this was clearly a private matter.

However, as Nelliel was looking around curiously, likely searching for the blunet. When she didn’t see the man anywhere however, the girl walks to Ichigo much to her companions slight panic, and tugs his sleeve.

”Oh hey...You’re...?”

The ginger asks awkwardly, realizing he had no clue who the trio was, other than they seemed to be friendlies.

”Me is Nel. This is Dondochakka and this is Pesche.”

The girl introduces the two, who apologized for barging in on their family moment.

Ichigo examines the two for a moment, then smiles, telling it was okay. These two did not seem like threats, and after Rukia explains their role, the ginger thanks them for helping his siblings.

”Oh it was of no trouble Kurosaki-san! They helped us so we just returned the favor!”

Pesche declares, taking on a very formal pose and bowing, which was kind of funny coming from a guy with an insect head and a loincloth for clothing.

”Itsygo, where’s Gwimmjow?”

The girl keeps tugging on his clothing, and the ginger looks down at her again. He had never seen a hollow who looked like a human child.

”She’s apparently one of the former rulers here.” Rukia informs him quietly, and Ichigo’s eyes widen, as he examines the bright eyed child.

Indeed, now when he looked at her, she had green hair like that one figure.....like _the_ woman he’d seen in the visions.

”You’re.. that Nel, aren’t you?”

He asks in slight disbelief. So more Espada had survived, not just Grimmjow?

The girl tilts her head confused, asking if they’d met before. The ginger shakes his head with an awkward laugh and crouches in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

”Grimmjow is... he’s not on a good mood right now, you should leave him be.”

”Gwimm is sad? Nel can go an’ make Gwimm feel better!”

The girl sounded so determined that Ichigo felt bad for turning her idea down, but he really didn’t want the little one get in trouble. He kind of doubted Grimmjow would actually harm her, but still.

” _Please_ Nelliel, he’ll be fine. Just give him time. I think what he needs now is time to think.”

The girl looks at him with a pouty look, but then nods.

”Okee, if Itsygo says so. If Itsygo is friends with red pineapple and ice lady, Itsygo must be nice too, so Nel will listen.”

The girl explains with a smile, and damn, it was contagious. Ichigo couldn’t stop but smile too at the cute kid, although he knew there had to be a truly sad and tragic story behind her current form. The girl then heads back to her friends, leaving Ichigo to finally update his friends about what was going on.

 

Once he manages to sit down more comfortably with Yuzu in his lap - the poor girl was exhausted - he proceeds to finally reveal everything he knew, hiw he’d first encountered Grimmjow, then later learned about the friendship between him and his ancestor, Kaien Shiba. His friends and Karin listen intently, while Yuzu just slept in Ichigo’s lap.

When Ichigo got to the part about the story they knew about Aizen being a very likely lie, both Rukia and Renji gasp in shock, and even Karin seemed dumbfounded.

” _No way_...Yuzu adored that guy...is this really true, Ichi?”

Karin asks suspiciously, finding it hard to trust the word of a hollow.

”Look around you Karin. This place and its state is proof enough.” Ichigo scolds her gently, and the girl bites her lip, unable to deny that their surroundings was a pretty good argument for this story to be the real one.

”So...these guys...they taught our ancestors how to make the Zanpakutos?

” Renji looks at his own blade dumbfounded, and Ichigo nods firmly.

”That’s the impression I got, and it makes sense honestly, given how Grimmjow seems to be a natural with spiritual essence. Creating a blade with a piece of your soul in it sounds like a natural thing for their kind to do if they wanted to wield weapons.”

Rukia nods, processing everything she’d just learned. It was...quite the shock.

It seemed like there was so many things they’d been kept in the dark from. Then again, it made sense in her mind, for the Shinigami of that time hide away the truth about what Aizen had done, given he’d been a worshiped hero already back then. Learning the man was just a mass-murderer could’ve seriously lowered the morale of the people. Or, it could’ve triggered the ludicrous idea in people’s heads that they could even defeat the most powerful of hollows, creating a lot of unnecessary deaths.

Plus, after learning about Hueco Mundo's peculiar nature and need for balance from Pesche... if their ancestors had known about this too, it was kind of understandable such a thing was kept secret, to not rock the boat so to say.

”So... did the commoners at that time know of the alliance though?”

Renji questions after a moment, and Ichigo pauses, wondering it for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was honest. He had red about Grimmjow visiting Kaien’s home and the fact they’d gone to a festival. However, for most commoners, perhaps they’d just thought of Grimmjow as another human.

The mask was a dead giveaway though.

”.....I don’t know, maybe not.” Ichigo admits finally with a shrug.

 

After finishing his full story, the group just sits there quietly, taking in Ichigo’s words. The ginger himself kept petting Yuzu’s hair absent-minded, as the girl was still asleep.

”We should bring Yuzu and Karin home soon.”

Rukia comments eventually, upon noting how Karin had begun to look sleepy too, leaning against Ichigo’s shoulder. Ichigo nods with a sigh; the two probably found the atmosphere rather overwhelming, even here where the spirit particles weren’t as densely packed.

”The problem is, Urahara’s portal is really far away out of this place. He can try and bring it closer if we contact him, but it’ll probably take a while.” Renji informs Ichigo with a frown, and the ginger could understand the issue; going out there with two mere human girls was highly dangerous, as they could not defend themselves like the Shinigami could.

While he, Renji and Rukia were strong, Rukia was currently weakened, and he had lost both of his blades now that Grimmjow had taken his back, and his training one had been taken and likely destroyed by the hollows who captured him.

”Wait, you have a way to contact him?”

Rukia nods, bringing out her scanner.

”This has a communicator in it too.”

Oh, well, at least one part of this idea was doable.

It still felt the fact that the current portal was too far, and Yuzu and Karin really _couldn’t_ wait for much longer in this atmosphere.

”Hey, maybe those guys could help! I mean, they’re hollows too, right?”

Karin suddenly comments, nodding towards Nelliel and her two companions.

”Right...they could probably open one!”

Renji looks at the girl approvingly, gaining a wide grin from her. The group had apparently heard they were being mentioned, as they look up towards the Shinigami confused. Ichigo gets up, making Yuzu rest on Karin’s lap instead and walks to the three.

”Could you guys open a portal to get my sisters home? Having our own, self-made one requires time to be moved to a better spot.”

”Oh we’d be delighted to help!”

Pesche declares, but then deflates as he remembers something.

”Except... our injuries from the battle against .... that man, we’ve lost our ability to do so.”

Ichigo frowns, not happy to hear this. He also felt sorry for them too; he could see plainly what Nelliel’s prize had been, but apparently the other two had suffered losses as well.

”Ah! But do not despair, Big brother-san! Grimmjow-San can probably help you.”

Ichigo makes a face, aware that the blunet probably wasn’t on the mood for any of that.

”My name’s Ichigo though, you can use it.”

”Ah! My apologies Ichigo-san!”

Pesche bows at him, and the ginger gave him an awkward smile, not used to such eccentric politeness, _especially_ from a hollow.

Glancing at his sisters, Ichigo knew he could not really wait until they made contact with Urahara and asked him to move the portal. It would be of no problem for them to just walk back to where it was if he’d been there with just Rukia and Renji, but given how uneven the spiritual particle density was all across the desert, bringing Yuzu especially trough there was a big no no.

Ichigo sighs and nods.

”I’ll...I’ll go talk to him, finding him shouldn’t be too hard. His aura is pretty easy to spot.”

 

 

 

 

In the end, it did took Ichigo an hour or two to look for where the hell the blunet had gone, but he eventually found the man in a rather surprising place; the area where Ichigo had first found him.

The man was standing in the middle of the room, just sort of examining the destruction. He felt really tired right now, as if he wanted to throw a rage-fit out of frustration, but had realized it was useless, leaving him with the kind of exhaustion where you just didn’t have the motivation or energy to deal with anything.

Ichigo pauses on the doorway, wondering if he really should be trying to ask for a favor right now.

Grimmjow had _no_ reason to help them.

If anything, not helping out would make more sense, given the Shinigami could find out about him if he did help, and the man had every reason to not trust them.

Another thing was.... it was kind of amusingly stupid that Ichigo realized this only now, but technically speaking, they were complete _strangers._

It just felt like he’d known the man for a long time, all because of what he’d red from that diary, and what he’d seen in the flashbacks and visions.

None of those memories and feelings associated with them were his, not really.

The ginger sighs quietly and leans against the broken door-frame, wondering what he should do.

”If yer tryin’ ta hide from me, yer doing shitty job at it, Kurosaki.”

Grimmjow suddenly comments, not looking at him. Ichigo jumps, then after a moment of hesitation, walks beside the man.

”I wasn’t. I just...”

”You wanna ask me ta open a portal for yer brat sisters.”

Ichigo frowns, not liking how Grimmjow was referring to them as brats. However, if he’d learned anything from those visions and writings, it was that the blunet just had a very crude way of talking. So he just sighs and asks how he’d known.

”T’s the damn link. I can hear yer thoughts.”

Ichigo blinks, expecting the man to be bluffing.

However, as the blue eyes drift to give him a side-glance, Ichigo realizes he was not.

”Then...how come I can’t hear yours?” He asks backing away a bit, slightly unnerved to know Grimmjow could see what he was thinking.

”M’blocking you. That’s why. I’ve done this before so I know how to.”

There was no mockery in his voice which Ichigo felt would normally be there, belittling him for his lack of experience. Right now, Grimmjow was just too tired to even bother.

”I can sense your mood though.”

The ginger comments after a moment of silence, gaining a snort.

”Of course ya can. That stuff’s obvious to anybody, ya can’t really hide it that easily.”

Ichigo says nothing to that, turning his attention to the partly ruined mural Grimmjow was sort of gazing at. Though likely he just needed a point to where to focus his gaze while he was thinking.

”...your zanpakuto is back.”

Ichigo mumbles out, nodding at the blade on his hip.

”Its a part of my soul. Of course it’d appear back. Though its just a damn sharp and pointy stick right now, without her.”

Ichigo didn’t have to ask who this ’her’ was.

Another question burned at the tip of his tongue, but the ginger was uncertain if he should be asking questions right now, given how upset and tired Grimmjow was.

”M’used ta you people bein’ nosy.”

The blunet mutters out, a jab likely aimed at both him and late Kaien.

Right.

Grimmjow could hear what he was thinking.

”I...was just wondering. Why did that guy refer to you as ’hunter king?’ The term I uh...saw in the diary was different.”

It was probably the silliest question he could've thought of now that he voiced it out loud, but he still had so many Ichigo didn't always know where to start. He was avoiding the more serious ones at the moment, feeling that Grimmjow was not ready to deal with them yet. Maybe he never would be, who knew.

The blunet remains quiet for a long time, long enough to make Ichigo shift nervously, wondering if he should just go.

Finally, Grimmjow sighs, brushing trough his hair.

”The beast thing’s a nickname. The official title Barragan gave me was **Hunter**. T’s...sorta my job, _was_ my job.”

”Huh?”

Grimmjow glances at him mildly annoyed, then walks closer to the nearby broken down pillar and sits down on it, hands in his pockets.

” _Every_ Espada had their own role ta do to keep this goddamn shithole running. My job was ta hunt down any hollow that was recklessly gettin’ too big for their shoes.”

Ichigo frowns, his confusion probably clear from his face - and his thoughts.

”Hueco Mundo’s got a thick spiritual atmosphere. If too many powerhouses start popping up, it’s gonna throw the whole thing off-balance. There’s only a certain level yer allowed to evolve. After that, well...”

a dark grin appears on Grimmjow’s face, causing a cold chill travel down Ichigo’s spine.

”I also dealt with bastards eatin’ away too many hollows from one area, creatin’ an energy vacuum that could give birth to a highly powerful one.”

”...It kind of sounds like the Espada did not want to be overthrown.”

Grimmjow actually lets out a _laugh_ , startling Ichigo as he heard the borderline manic cackle.

 _Holy shit,_ how could someone have such an insane sounding laugh naturally?

”Yer thinkin’ this too much on human terms, Kurosaki. Barragan didn’t care if new Espadas were added, as long as the balance was kept. It’s just that _natural_ powerhouses are born rarely.”

”Well if you **were** tasked with limiting the possibility...”

Grimmjow grunts, looking at him annoyed.

”There are natural bubbles of dense spiritual matter dumbass. How the hell do you think I was born?”

"Flashily I'd presume." 

Ichigo had no clue where that came from, but he was glad to see the man smirk a little, amused at his little jab. It was better than the earlier hollowness - pun not intended - that he'd been radiating.

”It’s a problem when some bastard devours too much folk in one spot, because the rush of energy to fill in that vacuum’s gonna create a hollow that’s basically a walking explosive. A proper concentration of particles requires time.”

It was kind of funny, being schooled about this kind of stuff by _Grimmjow_ of all people, but Ichigo found himself to be listening much easier than he would with Hachi-san’s lessons.

”Of course yer payin’ attention, kid; I got natural charm.”

The ginger gives him a peeved look, telling him to stop calling him a kid already.

”I’m 19, soon to be 20, I’m not a kid!”

”Whatever you say, _kid_.”

Grimmjow smirks at him, but it doesn’t last long as he felt too mentally tired to really tease Kurosaki that much. Though. He should probably point out Kurosaki _wasn’t_ denying the charm part.

Whatever, he’d probably realize it himself eventually.

”So...how about Nel?”

Ichigo suddenly asks, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him. He was so much like Kaien in some aspects, to the point Grimmjow wondered how he was able to stand that face right now without wanting to punch his teeth in, or just tell him to fuck off.

He knew why though.

It was a **bitch** to make a promise to a dying bastard, but damn it, he’d gone and done it, and Grimmjow was a man of his word.

”Harribel n’ her...they were sorta like peace-keepers. They made sure we don’ kill each other here, as many of us didn’t necessarily get along. I don’t just mean Espada, but the rest of the palace citizens too. Their role got more important thanks to the alliance though, as those two knew how ta speak human better than any of us.”

Ichigo nods a bit, holding his chin thoughtfully.

After a moment, the ginger realizes Grimmjow was examining him with a strange look on his face, and he shifts nervously on his feet, asking what he was looking at.

”....Yer pretty damn young to be thrown in the middle of this mess.”

”For the last time, I’m not..!”

**_”That’s not the fuckin’ point, dumbass!”_ **

Grimmjow cuts him off with an annoyed growl, a bit of fire returning to his eyes.

The blunet huffs out a sigh and rubs his eyes for a moment, as if not wanting to get too worked up right now.

”....I can go for now if you need time.”

Ichigo offers softly, but the man shakes his head firmly, dropping his hands to his knees.

”Ya don’t hafta try n’ protect my feelings or whatever shit yer pulling right now. I _don’t bloody need it._ ”

Grimmjow mutters out, glaring at the floor.

Ichigo had a feeling that he actually did, but the man wasn’t likely aware of it. Like Kaien had mentioned in his diary, the blunet wasn’t the best at getting how emotions worked at times.

”Before he went and....he told me something pretty big.”

Ichigo remains quiet.

”That hollow who was tryin’ ta snatch my powers, he was **working** for somebody.”

The ginger nearly gasps out loud, then walks closer subconsciously, face in a deep frown. When he spoke, his voice came out hushed for no particular reason.

”So there was somebody else, who was trying to put him on the throne for Hueco Mundo?”

”Yeah. Kaien found out while he was ghosting around after you took my zanpakuto. He didn’t know for sure who they were, but he did know what they call themselves.”

Ichigo lifts eyebrow, expectantly.

”Quincy.”

The ginger just stares at him, having not heard of that term _ever_ before.

Grimmjow did not seem too surprised about it, as he just snorts, rolling his eyes.

”I don’t know what that means either, but he said that yer bosses might.”

Ichigo’s frown deepens; so there was another secret that their superiors were hiding? It should not be that surprising, but still... lying to public was perhaps understandable in a sense, but lying to your own comrades, it just didn’t sit right with him.

”Why are you telling me this though?”

Grimmjow remains quiet for a long moment, examining the ginger quietly. His eyes were perhaps even more intense now than they had been in spirit form, and Ichigo steps back again subconsciously, feeling a little self-conscious.

”Apparently ya have something to do with them.”

Ichigo looks at the man surprised, then just frowns in confusion, as he tries to think back the short, twenty years of his life to try and see if he ever heard any reference to the term Quincy anywhere. He came up with nothing.

”I don’t know what he could’ve meant with that.”

Ichigo answers honestly, gaining a slight, amused grin from the blunet, as he stands up again, cracking his neck.

”He said _you_ probably don’t know, but yer old man might.”

The ginger’s eyes widen upon hearing that.

So _Isshin_ was keeping secrets too now?

It was hard to imagine, but then again... lately everything had been full of surprises.

”That ain’t the only reason though.”

Grimmjow admits after a moment, casting his gaze aside. Ichigo looks at him confused, awaiting for an explanation to those cryptic words. The blunet seemed kind of annoyed by whatever was in his mind, like he didn’t really want to do or say whatever he was thinking, but the same time felt like he had to.

”I made a promise, before the fucker disappeared.”

He finally brings his blue eyes to look st the ginger’s brown ones directly, and Ichigo could see the conflict in him from the way he was peering at him. Grimmjow really didn’t like the promise he’d made, but felt the need to go trough it anyway.

”Now that Fischer’s dead, he figured those _Quincy_ might be makin’ a move, and he worried they’d come after ya.”

Ichigo just looks at him for a moment, then a frown appears on his face.

”Did Kaien ask you to ** _BABYSIT_** me?”

He probably sounded about as miffed as Grimmjow felt right now.

For his surprise however, Grimmjow shakes his head lightly.

”Nah, not like that. He wants me ta help ya control your goddamn pressure, because yer _shit_ at it. With the current state yer at, he worried they could probably fuck you up real bad, or perhaps use you for whatever plot they're planning. He didn't really give me the details, but that might be because he...ran out of time.”

The slight hint of the earlier moodiness returned to his voice, but Ichigo didn't really register it; he just stares at the man confused.

_Grimmjow?_

Teach him?

The man was a natural with spiritual pressure abilities yes, he was a hollow after all, but...

”That sounds like a....an unnecessary deal.”

”I thought so too at first, given ya got that mustache dude doing it already. But apparently there’s more to this whole deal with you than just a lack of focus or whatever shit he was going on about.”

Before Ichigo could ask what the hell he meant, Grimmjow suddenly steps forward and grabs his wrist, bringing his arm between them.

He stood _so close_ that the ginger felt uncomfortable, wanting to back away a little as his ears gained color slightly.

Thank god only his ears, not his face, at least not yet.

Suddenly, he could feel a strange tug in his aura, and Ichigo watches in shock as all the color bleeds away from his arm, turning it _white_ slowly.

His fingernails turn black as well.

Ichigo quickly pulls his arm off from the grip and backs away, staring at Grimmjow who was clearly amused by his shock.

”I wasn’t tryin’ ta possess ya, can’t do that anymore.”

The man comments with a shrug, stuffing a hand in his pocket while he points at the still white limb.

”Ya got hollow blood in you.”

Ichigo just stares at the chalk white arm, which was slowly returning to normal.

_”What the...”_

”Hollows and ya Shinigami clash naturally. The _real reason_ ya can’t control your shit is because these two powers try ta cancel each other out. Ya gotta get that hollow side of yers under control too if you ever wanna be able to fire glowy energy balls around.”

Ichigo had no clue on what to say right now.

”Only a hollow can teach ya how to do this.”

Something about Grimmjow’s tone and the look he was giving felt a little unnerving, giving off the predator vibes again.

 

 

 

 

Once Ichigo returned to the others - followed by Grimmjow who hadn’t said a word to him after revealing Ichigo the nifty detail the ginger hadn’t known about himself - he noted that Rukia was using her scanner to communicate with someone, likely Urahara.

Ichigo was not surprised to find the thing had a phone of sorts in it. When the group spots them, Renji gives Ichigo a questioning look, likely wanting to know if he managed to convince the man to help out and open a portal. It takes him a little while to decode that glance, as his mind was still reeling from the revelation, and Ichigo kept glancing at his arm, which had returned to normal by now.

Once he does get it however, Ichigo glances at Grimmjow hesitantly, figuring that since the man could read his thoughts apparently, he didn’t have to ask.

The man examines him for a moment with a blank visage, then releases an annoyed sigh and nods slightly.

”Alright.” Ichigo turns his attention towards Rukia, who had a very serious face on.

She’d closed the communicator, and her look was making the ginger uneasy.

”I informed Urahara about what has been going on here.”

That probably meant she’d told the man about Grimmjow too. Ichigo shifts uneasily.

”He and Ukitake-san want to meet him.”

His face must’ve looked quite surprised, because Rukia proceeds to explain.

”Apparently...Urahara was aware of his presence on the zanpakuto the whole time, and Ukitake-san has some knowledge of what happened here.”

She gestures towards the palace around them, glancing at Grimmjow who remained stoic.

”He does _not_ know the _whole_ story, and wonders if what he’s been passed on was incorrect, given Ichigo’s reaction back in Urahara-san’s house.”

Grimmjow actually looks at the ginger now with lift eyebrow, and the dreaded blush he’d managed to hold back earlier now hits him properly, making the ginger cough and turn his gaze away from the man.

”I just...given all that I’d learned at that point, I found it pretty _wrong_ that the Shinigami heads lied about what happened. I understand not telling the common men and all, but your descendants? besides, he... **he** warned them about that person, and they didn't listen. it just felt like they were covering up their own mistake, and it just...felt wrong to me. So, when Ukitake-san was trying to reason with me about it, I kind of blew in his face....”

Ichigo mumbles out, rubbing his head awkwardly. The blue eyes look at him for a long time, until the man finally huffs out an annoyed sigh, mumbling something about overly empatethic bloodlines or so. There was a slight, pleased hint to his tone too however, which made ichigo's belly flutter with strange kind of relief.

Rukia hums but says nothing to that, turning her attention to Grimmjow.

”Given the...history you have, Ukitake-san made it clear that he’ll require your permission for the meeting at first. He’s even willing to come here if required, rather than asking you to join us on the human realm.”

The blunet still remains quiet, as if measuring the sincerity of what Rukia was saying.

”Ukitake-san would not plan a sneak attack like that. I’m sure he means what he says.” Ichigo comments cautiously, but the blunet just glances at him dismissively.

Finally, the blunet nods slightly.

”Good. It’ll take a few days to prepare his visit, given Ukitake-san’s health isn’t the best. We’ll be going to aid with that right away, if you’ll just open us a portal.”

The short woman informs the man, surprisingly calm about talking to him given she’d been _stabbed_ by the blunet earlier.

Granted, it had been under some sort of seizure, but still.

Then again, Ichigo knew how tough Rukia was mentally. It was clear this off-handedness was impressing Grimmjow too slightly, he could feel a sliver of respect emanating from the man.

”One condition though; Kurosaki stays _here_.”

This sudden demand catches everyone off-guard, and they turn to stare at the smirking blunet, especially Ichigo.

”Why would you want Ichi-nii to stay behind? What do you want from him?!”

Karin demands, but quickly backs away as slight annoyed glance is aimed at her.

Grimmjow just lifts his gaze and looks at Ichigo for a moment.

The ginger suddenly feels as if a veil of sorts was lifted briefly, and his eyes widen.

Eventually, after listening to his quiet reasoning, Ichigo nods and turns to look at his friends.

”Its fine. We uh...have some personal matters to deal with.”

Renji frowns, clearly not liking that answer.

”What personal matters do you mean exactly?”

Rukia questions them as well, but Ichigo refuses to explain it, not yet ready to tell his friends about this.

”Ya might wanna ask his pops about it.”

Grimmjow suddenly comments, gaining a confused look from Ichigo’s friends and sisters. The man refuses to explain it either, however.

After a moment of tense silence, Rukia sighs and nods.

”I suppose, it’ll be easier to make a portal closer to the palace when one of us is already here as a marker. This upcoming meeting could be seen as a sort of diplomacy move anyway, so having a representative here waiting for us is only natural.” She states diplomatically, then puts the scanner/communicator away.

”You can’t possibly be fine with this Rukia! This has gotta be the _stupidest_ idea Ichigo has ever had, and that’s **saying something!** ”

Renji protests loudly upon hearing her response.

_”Hey!”_

Ichigo aims a glare at the redhead, while the blunet beside him just chuckles lightly, making Ichigo’s slight blush worse.

”Seriously Ichigo! That guy’s a hollow, or did you forget? And he also possessed you and made you attack Rukia, and don’t forget about that museum thing!”

”For the love of... _I don’t fucking NEED_ a babysitter Renji! I can handle myself!”

Ichigo huffs out irritated, as his temper finally flares. He’d been watching it a lot lately because of Grimmjow’s presence, as he was easy to trigger into a violent outburst, but Renji... he could go and bitch at Renji, _especially_ if he felt the man was being unnecessarily protective.

Sure, he could see where the man was coming from, but come on!

He wasn’t a toddler.

”Look, you’ve already given us a scare several times, I just...”

” **For fuck’s sake,** pineapple; if I wanted ta kill yer buddy, I’d done it the SECOND I was released from the damned sword!”

Grimmjow suddenly huffs out, sounding about as irritated as Ichigo.

The redhead snaps his jaw shut with an audible sound, but still glares at Grimmjow suspiciously. In the end, when Rukia informed Urahara about Grimmjow’s demand - including mentioning about what the blunet had said about Isshin - the man had gone quiet, then nodded, stating that it was fine, and they’d inform Isshin about this. It was clear Urahara knew more than he let on about what was behind Grimmjow’s words, but Rukia knew that she’d already demanded that the man would tell her everything eventually.

This would likely be included, so she did not bother asking for answers trough the communicator.

Plus... she had a feeling she’d already learned most what Urahara had known anyway, trough Ichigo.

They left rest of their supplies to Ichigo, so he’d have food and drink for the few days he was going to be alone there; hollows didn’t need to eat like humans so it was not like he could find food from Hueco Mundo.

”Alright, we should be ready to head home now.”

Rukia informs the blunet after checking her things and making sure Yuzu and Karin were stable.

The raven girl was able to walk on her own, but Yuzu needed to be carried by Renji.

”I still think this is a bad idea, for all we know he could just teleport us to a volcano or something.” Renji grumbles, glaring at the blunet, who was grinning at him lazily.

”That can be arranged.”

"It’s really fucking hard to believe you used to be a ruler, you act like some douche from the street.”

For Ichigo’s surprise, Grimmjow was not offended by that, as he just shrugs.

”Yer not wrong. I _was_ born in an area one could consider shitty back-streets of this place.”

That comment piqued Ichigo’s curiosity, but he held it in for now, figuring Grimmjow didn’t want to talk in front of his friends.

He was clearly more open for a chat when they were alone.

”Just...stay safe Ichi-nii, okay?”

Karin tells him after a moment of hesitation, aiming a stern glare at the ginger, who just nods, telling her he’d be fine.

”Ya done talking?” Grimmjow started to sound impatient, as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of the excess people in his house, which Ichigo both understood, and didn’t. He understood wanting the people whose ancestors were responsible about the murders of your comrades out of your home, but somehow the ginger felt Grimmjow's annoyance had nothing to do with that.

”Yes, we’re ready.”

Rukia informs the blunet, who rolls his eyes, muttering ’finally’ under his breath, before unsheathing his sword and slicing the air, just like how Ichigo had done last time.

A second later, a portal appears in the spot, though it was bigger and looked stabler than what Ichigo had done.

” _Of course_ its stabler; the one ya made was done by Kaien, an’ he wasn’t an actual hollow.”

Grimmjow mutters out quiet enough so only Ichigo could hear it.

The ginger watches as his friends step in and disappear trough the cut in the air, before it closes down and disappears behind them.

Once it vanishes, Ichigo felt both relief and unease settle in his mind the same time, which was quite the mixture to feel. He was relieved that his sisters would be safe now, but unnerved by the prospect of what was to come.

”Uhm...is it fine if we’ll stay in the palace too for now, Grimmjow-san? Now that your aura coats the palace, it’s safer for us to stay here, rather than...”

Pesche suddenly breaks the silence, and the blue eyes shift to look at the group, and the nervous fraccion who was shifting his weight from side-to-side. Nelliel was clinging to Dondochakka’s back, peeking from behind the giant head curiously.

”....It ain’t like this place wasn’t yer home too.” Grimmjow finally comments with a shrug, and the group seemed visibly relieved.

”Then... I suppose we may as well take refugee on our old chambers.”

”Do what ya want, I don’t care.” Grimmjow grunts at the trio, who quickly vanish into the palace, likely knowing where they were going.

Nelliel did glance at them looking a little concerned, but she didn’t try to stop her two companions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since my classes were canceled for today, I had time to write yet another chapter already.  
> It's probably surprising given I JUST plopped three major chapters here, but I legit had nothing else to do today. So enjoy.


	20. bizarre days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo begins his unusual sleepover

Isshin was more than relieved to have his girls back.

So much so that Renji worried the old fool would squeeze the life out of them or drown them in tears, he was hugging the two so tightly, to the point that Karin was trying to push him off by his face, eventually resulting in a crotch-kick to make the aloof parent stop. Isshin falls the ground holding his groin, but he was still smiling his goofy, relieved smile, declaring that he was glad to see Karin was herself still.

Then, he finally seems to notice something rather important.

”Where’s Ichigo?” The man asks upon realizing his son wasn’t with the two.

”He...wanted to stay behind for now. Apparently he and...”

Rukia glances at Urahara, who nods slightly, telling her that he’d already spoken with Isshin about Grimmjow, although wasn't entirely sure how much of it the man had actually listened in between weeping for his daughters.

”He and the Espada had something to discuss or so.”

Isshin hums with a frown, but then just nods, seemingly not too concerned. It was a little surprising; Isshin could be aloof when it came to Ichigo, but you’d think even he would concerned about this. Sometimes Rukia wondered if Isshin had too much faith in his son, or if he was just that clueless.

”Seriously Rukia, we should go back and drag him home; the guy made him go batshit crazy - even if it was by accident based on what ichigo said - and who knows what else that crazy bastard will do to him!”

”Renji, Ichigo _wanted_ to stay. I’m fairly sure if he didn’t want to, or felt he’d be in danger, he would not have agreed. It doesn’t matter how strong that man is, I doubt Ichigo would let him intimidate himself that much.”

While Rukia had a point, Renji _still_ didn’t agree with this. What was this 'personal matters' that Ichigo was unable to discuss with them around, and had to stay behind in bloody Hueco Mundo to settle??

”Plus...I cannot say this for sure, but...” the woman pauses, gazing back at the closing portal.

Urahara had decided to shut his down now that it wasn’t needed at the moment. He’d been quite surprised to have the group pop out into his yard instead of the basement, but he soon learned why as Rukia had informed him Jeagerjaquez had opened one for them.

”What is it?”

”I .....did not really sense anything particularly threatening aimed at Ichigo from him. And if what he told us about his ancestor was true... perhaps Jeagerjaquez is prone to be more decent towards Ichigo given their likeness.”

”Yeah, well...Ichigo is not Kaien.” Renji shrugs, unsure on what to think about that whole Kaien deal.

The way Ichigo had spoken about it, at times growing kind of quiet as if what he’d been shown or red had a bit of an emotional impact. Ichigo was a highly empathetic person so it wasn’t _too_ surprising.

Still though...

”What the hell did that bastard want from him then? **What** personal stuff?”

”We’ll probably find out eventually.” Rukia comments after a moment, face in a slight frown. leaving Ichigo behind had been a slightly strange decision, but the impression Urahara had given her when she'd informed the man of the demand had given the woman the vibe that he had a burning reason to agree to this deal.

In fact....

As she turns to look at the aforementioned shinigami, the man sighs and nods, knowing what the woman wanted. 

"You might have learned most of the story already from Ichigo, but I believe I have some bits to add to it."

 

 

 

 

 

Ichigo felt a little uneasy, if he was honest with himself; the decision to stay behind had honestly been made on a whim, but Grimmjow’s reasoning had _sounded_ good at the time.

 

_”Would probably be good idea ta start fixin’ up yer energy problems as soon as possible given how volatile yers are; n’ its easier to do here. More space in case ya go on a rampage.”_

 

 

That had been the main reason, but there _had_ also been another one.

Ichigo was concerned. 

Grimmjow had been calm, even messing with Renji and even him slightly, but he could feel this undercurrent of sorrow emanating from him.

It was stupid and irrational, but he really _didn’t_ want to leave the man alone in his thoughts right now.

Perhaps he did not understand it himself, but he probably needed somebody to be there right now. Sure, Nelliel and her gang were there too, but the two males seemed too scared to even bother trying to cheer Grimmjow up, and Nelliel was just a child at the moment, her attention-span rather short. Plus, given he'd been so deeply involved to this whole mess, the ginger felt responsible to see it trough, to make sure the blunet would...cope, or something like that.

Maybe he wanted to return the favor of the man saving his ass quite a few times.

Ichigo sighs as he finishes putting up a mattress for himself to the room he’d been in several times already, which happened to be Grimmjow’s.

He stares at it for a long moment, wondering if this really _was_ a good idea.

Was he letting his sentimental attachment to the story of the two get the better of him?

Ichigo shakes his head; no, he wasn’t _that_ dumb.

He just wanted to make sure Grimmjow would not go on a rampage again or something, and potentially end up ruining whatever peace-making Ukitake-san likely had planned.

_What made him think he could do it though?_

Carrying Grimmjow's sword around for a couple of months did not necessarily mean he was qualified to deal with this.

Surely, his similarities with Kaien only carried him so far.

Besides... it would be _wrong_ of him, to use that to his advantage.

Suddenly, he began to feel a little sick; what if he'd just make things worse, making Grimmjow think he was guilt-tripping the man to be nicer to him or something, just because he was related to Kaien. What if that's what he was doing, even if he didn't mean to?

 

**Maybe he’d made a mistake after all.**

 

 

A hand lands on his shoulder, startling Ichigo from his thoughts, and he spins around, finding Grimmjow standing behind him with lift eyebrow.

He looked calm right now, which was probably good.

”The fuck are you starin’ the floor at? I doubt its that interesting.”

The man smirks at him, and Ichigo turns his gaze aside, a little embarrassed.

”I was just... in my thoughts.”

He mumbles out, suddenly feeling like he’d been caught doing something bad. Grimmjow examines him for a moment with his hands in his pockets.

”Havin’ second thoughts? Don’t blame ya if you do. I did make you go nuts earlier.” He didn't _quite_ sound apologetic, but...

Ichigo bites his lip, then forces himself to look up at Grimmjow with a forced smile.

”Hey, you were only right; if there’s a risk of going crazy again like that one time, I’d rather do it where I can’t hurt anybody.”

The blunet remains quiet for a long moment, examining the ginger silently, to the point Ichigo was getting uneasy.

”Didn’t think you’d agree so easily.”

The man finally snorts, brushing trough his hair as he walked back towards the door. Suddenly, Ichigo had a feeling that perhaps Grimmjow _did not know himself_ why he’d proposed this whole idea out of blue and so suddenly.

Perhaps... he subconsciously _knew_ he needed somebody there who was able to... understand what he was going trough after all, at least in some level. Thinking it like that made Ichigo feel a little easier, although he felt the need to say the next words.

”You know... you don’t _have_ to be nicer towards me than normal just because we look alike. I’m not Kaien, and if anything, I should be  earning your trust rather than being handed it because of similarities with somebody.”

The blunet pauses and turns to look at him with lift eyebrow, making Ichigo feel like he just said something dumb. Grimmjow says nothing to that however, just turns and heads out, clearly expecting him to follow.

After a moment of hesitation, Ichigo does.

 

Grimmjow leads him to a whole new part of the palace, and as Ichigo looks up, he notes the doorway leading to this part had a number four on it. So this wing was dedicated to another Espada? This place had relatively little damage to it, which was surprising. Apparently Aizen did not fight the occupant in his chambers for some reason. Ichigo looks around, noting that when comparing to Grimmjow’s side, this place was darker, and the pathways were narrower too, but taller.

”Ulquiorra’s wing. T’s always been creepy as fuck.”

Grimmjow mutters out and stops to a door, literally kicking it open. The thing couldn’t handle the powerful strike and just fell off, basically. There was a slight satisfied smile on his face, as if the man enjoyed destroying his late companion’s area like this.

”Never got along with that fucker.”

Grimmjow simply explains, likely having heard the question from Ichigo’s head again. The ginger wondered suddenly if he'd been able to hear his anxious thoughts from earlier. Maybe he hadn't been listening, given Ichigo was certain the man would've reacted somehow.

They descend the stairs, which leads them to a place that kind of reminded Ichigo of the healing springs upstairs. Except, there was only one pool, and the liquid in them was darker. It still seemed to be water, but for some reason appeared almost black.

”It ain’t actually water per say; t’s liquid spiritual essence.”

Ichigo blinks surprised, then hums thoughtfully.

 _That_ explained how he’d been able to breathe in it.

However, it was clear this pool wasn’t the same as the ones above.

”What is this thing used for?”

Something borderline mischievous flashed in Grimmjow’s eyes, and Ichigo takes a step back, slightly unnerved. The man just looks at him with a lazy grin, clearly amused by his reaction.

”T’s one of Ulquiorra’s thought pools, or whatever the hell he calls ’em. He used them ta go into his brain to contemplate shit, when he wanted absolute silence. The fucker was weird as hell.”

Grimmjow shakes his head with a frown, making a face as if thinking about this particular Espada alone made him want to break something.

”Why did you bring me here?”

The blunet turns and walks closer, making the ginger back away unconsciously out of a reflex. The man was slightly taller than him, and clearly had more muscle than Ichigo, thought the ginger was younger. What made him back away was not really the physical advantages the man had, but rather that mischievous _glint_ in his eyes. It wasn’t sinister per say, but given how freaky his smirk could be...

”If ya want to get a hold of yer inner hollow, you gotta go into yer own brain first. Given you got natural dreamwalkin’ abilities, it should be easy.”

”I don’t see how this relates to...”

Before he could finish that sentence, Grimmjow suddenly **kicks** him in the water.

It was cold, dark, and deep, and Ichigo panics at first, trying to reach the surface.

 

However, the initial coldness disappears suddenly, and he begins to feel drowsy.

 

 

 

 

Grimmjow watched as the bubbling slowly stopped, indicating the kid had finally fallen under. Sure, he could have just told Kurosaki to hop in, but where was the fun in _that?_ Just because he didn't feel like bashing the ginger's head in like he would with most other Shinigami, it didn't mean he wouldn't fuck with Kurosaki a little.

A sound from behind him catches his attention, and Grimmjow glances at the girl who was walking towards him.

”Why did you kick Itsygo in there?”

Having the woman scold him even in **that** damn toddler form was a _riot._

”Doubt the kid would’ve gone willingly.”

Grimmjow comments with a shrug, slumping to sit on the nearby rocks, crossing his arms behind his head as he stretched out to rest there lazily, waiting for Kurosaki to pop back up. Who the hell knew how long that would take, so he might as well take a nap.

”Nel thinks that was _mean_ of Gwimmjow.”

” _Grimmjow_ doesn’t give a fuck what Nel thinks.”

The blunet deadpans, keeping his eyes closed. The girl huffs at him poutily, then peeks over the ledge of the pool down to the water. It was too dark to see anything, so she leans back and walks to Grimmjow instead, climbing to sit on a rock nearby him, staring at the blunet intently. She did it long enough to annoy Grimmjow, and he cracks an eye open to look at her.

_”What?”_

”Nel thinks Gwimmjow is sad.”

The man just snorts, closing his eyes again and turning his back to the kid. He didn’t wanna deal with her right now, _especially_ not in that form. She was twice as annoying as a toddler.

”Nel dun know why Gwimmjow is sad, but it makes Nel sad too.”

”Ya can go bawl yer eyes out elsewhere for all you want.”

Grimmjow waves his hand dismissively, wanting the brat to just leave already. Just because she used to be one of his fellow Espada, it did not mean he had to listen her mindless babbling in this broken form.

”Itsygo stayed because he is _worried_ about Gwimmjow.”

The blunet’s eyes snap open instantly, but he doesn’t turn to face the child. Also, **why the hell** she couldn’t pronounce his damn name correctly, if she could pronounce ’worried’ with an r?

”Nel thinks, its not nice to be mean to Itsygo when he’s worried about you.”

**_”For fuck’s sake kid!”_ **

Grimmjow sits up abruptly, glaring at her irritated now.

”You don’t even fuckin’ KNOW that ginger bastard, you just fuckin’ met! _Don’t_ talk like ya know it for a fact that he stuck by because....”

the blunet closes his jaw abruptly and turns his gaze away.

It was not like Nel was _wrong._

Ichigo kept forgetting he could hear his thoughts, despite having mentioned it to the kid just recently. And much to his dismay, he couldn't always shut his loud mental babbling out like he could zone others out if he wanted. 

When he’d found the ginger standing there, staring the floor intently like it had done something bad, he’d been able to hear **every goddamn thing.**

He got what the kid had been trying to say, when Kurosaki had told him not to be nice just because he reminded Kaien.

It was just.... _He couldn’t fucking help it._

It wasn’t the appearance thing, really.

Kurosaki had other similarities as well, like the endless curiosity, being a bit of a dumbass, and apparently wanting to care for his sorry ass for some reason. It was near impossible for him to not gravitate towards that, it felt like some twisted fuckin' addiction, especially after so many years being stuck alone in a goddamn zanpakuto.

Grimmjow knew he was not supposed to trust the ginger so easily, but... The blunet huffs and rubs his eyes frustrated.

He no longer felt like napping, so the man proceeded to glare at the pool, waiting for its surface to break.

 

 

 

Ichigo looks around quite confused. It kind of looked like he was back in his home town, except everything was _sideways,_ and there were no people, lights or other stuff on the streets.

The buildings were also stretched out. If this was his inner world, it was really weird. He takes a cautious step forward on the building wall, and to his relief, he doesn’t seem to be falling off anytime soon. As Ichigo walks across the building, he could hear whispers around him. The ginger looks around, but saw nothing in this strange landscape. Then, he does spot something; a figure, cloaked in black, was standing up ahead. It seemed like those whispers were coming from it.

Abruptly Ichigo realizes, that he’d heard about this kind of thing before; Renji and Rukia had both described ending up into a weird looking landscape, having a figure call out to them in whispers.

That figure would later become their zanpakuto spirit.

Ichigo’s eyes widen, and he quickens his steps, trying to reach the cloaked form.

For some reason, he seemed to only grow more and more distant, the closer Ichigo got. Finally, the ginger stops with a huff; this was getting nowhere.

 

 

_You are not ready to meet me, boy._

 

 

Ichigo blinks, looking at the figure far ahead.

The voice was much clearer now.

 

_You are not here for me, either._

 

The ginger opens his mouth to say something, but thats when the world around him shifts, as the buildings suddenly tilt upwards, making him fall to the street below. It didn’t hurt, despite it probably should have been. Ichigo sits up slowly, looking around at the tall, strangely hollow looking buildings around him.

All the windows were blacked out, there were no decorative elements on the walls like normally there would be. It was all entirely sterile. Then, he spots something on the street ahead of him.

A white figure, a figure he recognized.

It was _him._

Or rather, a pale version of him, with ridiculously long white hair cascading down his back.

He was sitting in the middle of the road, eyes closed as if meditating.

That...perhaps that was the representation of his hollow blood?

Cautiously, the ginger gets up and paces towards the figure slowly.

He didn’t really know what would happen once the thing woke up. He looked harmless enough right now, but still. Better be safe than sorry. When Ichigo was just few feet away, the pale version of him suddenly stirs, and Ichigo freezes, as it lifts its head, revealing typical, black and golden eyes. For a moment the pale figure just stares at him quietly, making the ginger wonder if he was supposed to say something.

_”Wait...ya ain’ ta old man.”_

His voice was strange, kind of distorted, lilting version of his own. It reminded him of the way Kaien had spoken in his hollow form, except this one had a **strong** accent too, nothing like how Ichigo spoke.

”Old man?”

The ginger asks, not really knowing what the white twin of his was referring to.

Suddenly, his eyes flash, and the hollow-Ichigo jumps up, making the ginger back away unnerved.

The look the thing was giving him was similar to Grimmjow’s predatory stares.

Ichigo felt his life flash before his eyes as his hair stood to an end; of course facing his hollow side directly would be dangerous, it was a _hollow,_ even if it lived inside his mind.

With a loud yell border-lining on a growl, the white figure leaps and tackles startled Ichigo to the ground, trying to squeeze the living daylights out of him.

As in, the hollow was... _hugging_ him?

Ichigo struggles as the white figure squeals like a child, rubbing his cheek against Ichigo’s like he was some sort of plush toy or something, squeezing him so tight the ginger felt like he was turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

_”Ya got no idea how long I’ve been waitin’ for ta opportunity ta meet ya, Ichi!”_

The hollow declares, _still_ rubbing their cheeks together.

”Uhm...”

The hollow pauses, then seems to realize that Ichigo was having trouble breathing, so he let go of the ginger, making him wheeze and gasp out of air.

For his unease, the white figure still remained hovering above him, looking highly eager like some weird, human shaped puppy.

Wait, could a hollow be called a puppy?

”Uhm...could you get off me?”

The white figure blinks, then moves away, allowing Ichigo to sit up.

The ginger rubs his neck, not knowing what to say or think right now.

_”How’d ya get in ’ere? Ta old man keeps sayin’ ya ain’t ready yet.”_

The hollows asks him curiously, sitting on his knees with hands resting against them, leaning forward like an overly curious kid. Seriously, was this thing really his hollow side?

”Uhm....you’re... a lot different than what I expected.”

Ichigo admits after a moment of awkward silence, and the pale Ichigo tilts his head to the side, so much that it almost rested against his shoulder. It was kind of freaky looking.

_”What? Ya thought I’d growl an’ gnaw yer head off or somethin’ like that?”_

He sounded amused.

”....kinda yeah.”

Ichigo admits awkwardly, and the hollow snickers at him.

_”Don’ be a dummy, Ichi!”_

He declares and searches to ruffle Ichigo’s hair, making the ginger grumble slightly annoyed as he tries to fix it afterwards.

 

_”Of course I woulda nat do tha’ ya silly; yer me, I’m part o’ ya. Why woulda I hurt m’self?”_

 

Okay, that... did make sense, but...

”You’re... a hollow. Last time I had a hollow within my body, shit sorta hit the fan. And the other person I knew had some sort of hollow power in them, their side sort of overtook their body...”

The white Ichigo hums, holding his chin as if trying to recall something.

 

_”Ah! That was ’cause that hollow was n’ outsider. Tha person ya mean, t’wasn’t his own power, but tha’ hottie blunet’s. Of course ta invading power will make a mess!”_

 

The pale Ichigo explains with a shrug, then snickers a bit, like the whole thought had been funny to him.

Then, his laughter stops as if he hit a brick wall, and the pale figure examines him quietly for a second, before clapping his hands together with such a loud sound that it made Ichigo jump.

 

_"That why ya 'ere! The hottie wanted ya ta come n' see me so you coulda learn yer full powers, amirite?"_

 

"uhm, kind of yeah..." Ichigo responds, rubbing his head awkwardly.

Wait.

”Hold on...how do you know about all of this?”

_”Ya forgot what I said already?”_

The pale figure tsks, then gets up, dusting his perfectly clean clothing. He offers his hand to Ichigo, and after a moment of hesitation, Ichigo takes it, allowing his strange twin to pull him off the ground and lead somewhere.

Suddenly, the setting around them changed, and Ichigo found himself in a void again, similar to the space he’d been in where he’d seen the ribbons that represented people’s souls. This area had no ribbons however, but floating pieces of fragmented glass everywhere.

No, rather, they were _mirrors_ of sorts.

_”I told ya, m’ you. I remember everythin’ ya do.”_

The hollow explains, pointing at one glass that showcased the moment Grimmjow had kicked him into the water.

_”N’ lemme tell ya; he’s a hot fucker, would love ta ride that!”_

The hollow Ichigo snickers again, holding his cheek with an expression that was bordering between lovestruck and _leery._

It was freaky, and made Ichigo’s cheeks fume with embarrassment. Why did his inner hollow have to be some sort of...horny freak?

”Uh....I sort of came here because I needed to connect with my hollow side or something...apparently that could help with my problem.”

Ichigo mumbles out, trying to get his twins attention away from the mirror. Gods, if the pale freak would start drooling, he’d _definitely_ knock himself out to escape this situation.

_”Aaaa yeah, yer inability ta use yer spiritual pressure properly. Ichi is a bad student!”_

The hollow pats his head again with a laugh, and Ichigo pushes his hand away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He’d full on expected to face a horned monster or something, not some sort of...childish, kind of perverted sounding twin of his.

 

_”Aww don’ be like that, Ichi-berry. I know ya’d like ’im to roughhouse ya for a bit too, don’ ya?”_

 

The pale twin slumps his arm around Ichigo’s shoulders and pokes his cheek playfully, making Ichigo’s redness worse, and he pushes the fucker away by planting a hand on his cackling face, fiercely denying it.

_”T’s okay Ichi, it ain’t like he can hear yer dirty thoughts - at least not right now he don’t.”_

The hollow coos and winks at him with a playful smirk, which only made Ichigo’s blush worse. He’d expected many things from his inner hollow, but not **this.**

 

_”But n’ all seriousness; m’glad ya finally came ta see me. Might be fer ta best if ya deal wit' me first before goin' fer the old man.”_

 

The hollow suddenly turns serious, and Ichigo could feel the aura around them shift. Ichigo’s eyes widen as his pale twin changes, his inverted Shinigami outfit replaced with something that had a floaty, shredded black collar on it, and similar sleeves.

He also seems to grow taller, and his hair turns wilder.

_”He ain’t wrong when he said tha’ our powers clash; yer soul’s naturally rejectin’ what I have. Ya gotta allow it ta accept me.”_

”I don’t know how.”

Ichigo replies truthfully, his hair standing to an end; his pale twin began to suddenly feel a lot more threatening.

A wicked grin appears on the pale Ichigo’s face suddenly, as the mask starts to appear on his face slowly. Interestingly enough, it reminded Ichigo of the mask Kaien had worn, with horns and all. Only the markings were different; Kaien had had slash-like marks under his eyes, this one had long red lines going vertically down the white surface, passing over the eye-sockets.

_”Ya gotta defeat me, naturally; in this world, bein’ strongest is ta key! Get me ta submit to ya and all will be good!"_

 

As the mask covers his face completely, the hollow Ichigo lets out a loud howl, and all the mirrors around them break. The pressure wave sends Ichigo stumbling down across the invisible floor, and his heart beat loudly in his chest. 

As the hollow moves to attack him, Ichigo quickly pulls out his blade that had somehow appeared in his belt, and blocks the claws aimed at him.

In the distance, an old man watches the fight unfold, knowing it was important.

 

Until Ichigo would defeat his white doppelganger, the young Shinigami would not be ready to meet him.

 

 

 

The water surface starts to bubble, and Grimmjow turns his attention towards it just as Ichigo shoots out of the water, gasping. He manages to scramble to the shore by himself, climbing off the water on his fours.

The blunet slowly stretches a bit, before pulling himself up, walking to the ginger lazily.

”Sup?”

The brown eyes shoot up at him after a moment, and _for once_ , the ginger did not hold back his upset.

”What the hell Grimmjow?! You could’ve just _told_ me to go in there!”

The blunet just smirks as the shinigami scrambles up, ruffling his hair up as he tried to get the cold liquid off his fiery strands. The brown eyes glare at him again soon enough, and for a moment the blunet wondered if Kurosaki would dare to **actually** punch him.

That could be fun.

For his disappointment, the ginger doesn’t, just grumbles under his breath as he turns his gaze back at the water, face in a deep frown.

”....I didn’t expect that.”

”Most people don’t expect ta get pushed into ice-cold water.”

”Not that!.....the hollow.”

Grimmjow tilts his head slightly, it wasn’t as extreme as what the pale Ichigo had done, but definitely had something similar to it.

”...I was expecting him to attack me, but he was...kind of friendly at first.”

”Friendly?” Grimmjow asks amused.

”He basically tackle hugged me, saying he was _happy_ to see me.”

Ichigo mutters out, suddenly unable to look at the blunet in the eyes. He could recall all the embarrassing stuff the pale twin of his had said afterwards. As the man remains quiet for a long time, the ginger freezes, suddenly realizing that Grimmjow _could_ likely see his thoughts _now_ , and witness the awkward shit his doppelganger had said.

Cautiously, Ichigo turns to look at Grimmjow, and **fucking hell** , the maniac was smirking like crazy, clearly onto it.

Ichigo groans and hides his face as the man starts to chuckle, highly amused by what he just saw.

So Kurosaki's hollow was a pervert? who would've thought?

Gods, Ichigo kind of wanted to die right now.

”To be fair; I _know_ I’m hot, especially on human standards, he ain’t the first one to say that.”

The blunet comments casually with a shrug, clearly enjoying Ichigo’s squirming and blushing way too much.

”Can’t you stop peeking into my head?”

”Nope. Yer thoughts are too damn loud.”

The man snickers at him, gaining another one of those amusing glares.

As Ichigo examines him longer however, he could suddenly spot a certain weight in his eyes, and his annoyance turns to concern.

”....Did something happen while I was under?”

The blunet tenses, his smirk fading, and he turns his gaze aside, suddenly reluctant to say anything. For a moment they just stand there silent, and Ichigo kind of wanted to kick himself now. He probably should not have asked that, as he clearly ruined whatever good mood Grimmjow had managed to achieve.

”...So, was making ya embarrassed the only thing that happened, or?”

Ichigo quickly understood the man wanted to change the subject.

He wasn’t ready to talk about this yet.

The ginger glances at the pond, then nods slowly, rubbing his neck.

”He told me... the only way for me to be able to even access my spiritual power properly is for my soul to accept him, and apparently the only way for me to do it is to...fight him.”

”...Sounds about right. A hollow won’t bow down to ya just ’cause yer the owner of the body. You gotta prove yer worth before they lend their aid to ya.”

Ichigo hums, still gazing at the waters. He could feel the grin creep up at Grimmjow’s face again.

”Let me guess, he kicked your ass.”

Ichigo grumbles a little frustrated, kicking a loose stone into the water.

Yes, he’d lost, pretty badly.

The last thing he recalled was his hollow growing really big and chomping him with one bite. He’d pretty much woken up in the water right after that.

”Don’t feel too shitty; it’d be a miracle if you could defeat ’im the first time.”

Ichigo doesn’t say anything to that, his face still in a deep frown.

_”Itsygo!”_

The ginger jumps in surprise and turns to look at the ginger haired girl, who was walking towards him, glomping his leg.

”Gwimmjow was mean to Itsygo. Nel is sorry Gwimmjow was mean.”

She declares with a pouty look aimed at the blunet, who just snorts, rolling his eyes. Ichigo pats her head awkwardly, telling that it was okay; he was used to Grimmjow’s antics by now.

”Trust me Kurosaki, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The man mumbles out with a devious grin, and Ichigo rolls his eyes, although he also made a mental note to watch his back as much as possible from now on.

Suddenly, a loud sound interrupts them, and Ichigo realizes abruptly that it was his stomach; he was _starving_.

The ginger rubs his belly awkwardly, and Nel looks up at him confused.

”Is there a hollow in Itsygo’s belly?”

”Nah, I’m just hungry.”

Nelliel’s eyes widen, then she looks at him with over-exaggerated shocked face as she backs away.

”Itsygo is turning into a hollow!”

”Wha... **no!** Where on earth did you get that from?”

”Meanie hollows outside of the palace always try ta eat Nel. They say they hungry and that Nel looks tasty.”

She explains crawling backwards away from Ichigo, as if expecting him to suddenly transform into a bloodthirsty monster. Grimmjow chuckles at the sight, shaking his head.

”Nah. Humans get hungry too Nel, or did you forget that too?”

”Humans eat hollows too?”

”No, we have our own food source!”

Ichigo quips in swiftly, finding the current conversation highly bizarre. The only positive thing was that the weight in Grimmjow’s aura had shifted away slightly again, replaced by his typical devious amusement.

”My friends left me some food in the supplies. I should probably go and eat.”

”Yeah, ya should, before ya develop a taste fer eatin’ lil green haired hollows.”

Grimmjow comments, glancing at Nel who yelps and runs to hide behind a giant rock. Ichigo gives the man a scolding look, but the blunet ignores him.

 

 

 

That evening, Ichigo couldn’t really fall asleep.

Grimmjow had told him he probably should not try to go to the pool again until after he’d rested, but that didn’t seem to be happening.

He was lying on his mattress, staring at the ceiling. The blunet was resting on the stony couch, sprawled out and hands behind his head. The thing looked uncomfortable to lie on, but given Grimmjow was a giant cat, and how cats slept in the weirdest of places, perhaps he was fine with it.

However, Ichigo could tell the man wasn’t really asleep.

He seemed relaxed, but the ginger could sense the inner turmoil trough their link. Which, now when he thought about it, raised a question.

”....Hey Grimm?”

The blunet doesn’t respond, but he could feel the man’s raging thoughts sort of pause a little, indicating he was listening.

”....How come when you transformed, this link didn’t make me go crazy like it had done with...you know.”

Ichigo decided not to mention Kaien’s name right now. The room remains silent for a while, but for Ichigo’s surprise, the man eventually responds.

”That’s 'cause the link _wasn’t working_ at that moment; after that whole shit-show, it was blocked briefly.”

”Then... why did it come back?”

The ginger asks softly after pondering that reply for a moment.

”Just cause ya put yer hand in the flow of water ta cut the cascade off, it don’t mean it won’t resume once ya pull yer hand away.”

Ah... Ichigo kind of understood that metaphor, although he would have never expected _Grimmjow_ to say something like that.

”I was quotin’ Harribel. She explained that ta me after...there was this one time ours broke briefly.”

Grimmjow’s voice falls quiet again, and Ichigo could tell he did not want to continue talking about that. His mood was really tense, Ichigo could feel it in the air, and moments later, the man shifts to turn his back to Ichigo. He wasn’t sure if Grimmjow wanted to hide his face or simply signal he no longer wanted to talk. Either way, the ginger decides to respect it and falls silent again.

However, he still could not sleep as thoughts spin around in his head like restless butterflies.

He kept replaying his strange meeting with his hollow over and over, and frustratingly, what he returned to the most was the pale figure’s admission that he found Grimmjow attractive. Glancing at the blunet, Ichigo couldn’t really stop but wonder; if the hollow was part of him, did it mean he’d just voiced out Ichigo’s own, subconscious thoughts. If he hadn’t, was the man now perhaps thinking so?

If that was the case, how did Grimmjow really feel about it?

He’d been joking and teasing Ichigo, but the ginger doubted he was showing his full emotions again.

Suddenly, Ichigo kind of wished he could peek into the man’s head again, because he really wanted to know what the man thought about it, about him.

Not just because of the awkward things his hollow self had blurted out, but in general; was he really okay with having somebody who reminded his late friend so much, around him?

Did Ichigo’s face _bother_ him?

Was he just hiding it because he’d promised Kaien to help Ichigo?

The ginger sighs and gets up slowly, walking out of the room. He could not sleep right now, so might as well wander around a bit. He’d been in that room enough times by now to find his way back, and even if he got lost, he could use their link to sense where Grimmjow was. He could probably do it even without the link given the powerful aura, but the link was definitely more accurate.

Soon enough, Ichigo arrives to the throne room.

He’d seen it countless times before, but the sheer size of the area still kind of awed him.

Also, he had hard time in imagining Grimmjow _actually_ sit on his seat, in a some sort of meeting of sorts.

He felt way too impulsive of a person to bother.

With a slight chuckle, Ichigo walks to the throne, placing a hand on the armrest. The thing was made of the same ivory stone stuff as most things in there, and Ichigo had no clue how the hell Grimmjow had been able to sprawl himself comfortably on it back in his dream scape. It had looked uncomfortable then, and looked even moreso now.

Still, unable to stop his curiosity, Ichigo glances around and then sits on it cautiously. It was definitely something of grandeur, and he could oversee the entire room from his spot. It was uncomfortable as all hell though, made for show rather than constant use.

At least by human standards.

A low chuckle catches his attention, and Ichigo jumps, finding Grimmjow standing on the doorway, leaning against it. His expression was slightly hooded, and the aura around him was a bit off.

Ichigo soon realizes why, as he spots the object in his hand.

”Where did you get that sake bottle?”

”Yer stuff. Dunno why it was there.”

The man mumbles out, downing a hefty gulp from it. His drinking speed was probably unhealthy for a human, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but frown a little concerned.

”Really; why the fuck did they leave ya with alcohol?”

The man asks after dropping the bottle, wiping his mouth. Given the slight slur to his speech, Ichigo began to wonder if alcohol worked faster on hollows, or if he’d drank more than just from the one he had right now. Before he could voice out his question, Grimmjow paces towards him, surprisingly stable with his steps, even if not as gracious as usual, before slumping right beside his throne, leaning against the front next to Ichigo’s legs.

”Ya didn’t even come off as somebody who drinks.”

He adds, taking another worrying gulp.

The ginger had no clue just _what_ exactly would happen to a drunk hollow, but so far his symptoms seemed fairly similar to humans, namely the slurred speech and slight loss of balance when walking.

”....I’m guessing Urahara put it there. He thinks ..... _weirdly.”_

”Ta hat guy? Yeahhh, can second that one.”

Grimmjow chuckles, then his head slumps to rest against Ichigo’s leg, and the ginger freezes, not knowing what to do.

He’d _never_ dealt with Grimmjow drunk, and given his usual temper, the chances of him turning violent over the wrong words was high.

”The fuck ya came ’ere for?”

The blunet mutters out after a moment, shifting his head to look up at Ichigo. His irises were wide and blurry, nothing like the usual catlike sharpness they held.

”.....I couldn’t sleep.”

Ichigo answers truthfully, and the man hums, turning his gaze away again.

”....Does alcohol work easier on hollows, or?”

He _had_ to ask.

Grimmjow snorts, giving him a lopsided smirk.

”What? Ya worried?”

”Honestly? A little bit. I’ve never seen you drunk before so I don’t know what is normal here...”

The blunet chuckles at that; his laugh lacked the wicked edge thanks to the slur the alcohol was causing.

”T’ does. We ain’t burnin’ it the same way as ya fleshbags, so it goes straight to our heads.”

The blunet mumbles out and then snickers again, like what he said was funny. Ichigo did _not_ find this funny at all, for him it was **alarming.**

Namely, because he had _never_ seen Grimmjow drink.

He’d **never** seen a mention of it anywhere in Kaien’s diary either.

Even when there had been talk about that one festival, it had been Kaien who’d gotten drunk, Grimmjow had likely been sober the whole time. The man generally came off as somebody who did not like to be incapacitated or have his senses dulled the slightest bit, as it could put him in danger.

This was out of character, in other words.

”Really though; why ta fuck would ya go n’ sit there?”

Grimmjow mutters out after a moment. He did not sound annoyed or offended by Ichigo sitting on his seat, merely curious.

Honestly, Ichigo didn’t know if Grimmjow would be offended if somebody sat on it; he felt like the kind of person who wouldn’t care that much. He also didn't know why the man even wanted to know something as insignificant as this.

”....I’m just wondering how the hell can anyone sit on these comfortably. They’re really hard.”

”M’pretty sure Barragan was _compensatin’_ on something if ya get what I mean. All this was his idea.”

The blunet chuckles, taking another, smaller gulp from his bottle.

It takes Ichigo a while to understand what he meant, but once he did, the ginger’s face flushed red.

”I doubt the old fart could even get it up n’ his age.”

”Oh my God, can you PLEASE shut up?”

Ichigo groans, his face going even redder now; sure, he and Renji had thrown a couple of perverted jokes around at times, but somehow hearing it from Grimmjow's mouth made it sound _much_ worse.

”What? Can’t handle a lil joke, Kurosaki?”

Grimmjow chuckles, turning and crossing his arms against the seat of the throne, leaning his head against them, looking up at the ginger sitting beside him with a mischievous smirk.

”I’m not exactly interested in hearing about your fellow leaders’ intimate life.”

Ichigo points out dryly, making Grimmjow’s grin widen, he didn't think that would be possible.

”So just mine?”

Ichigo nearly chokes on his own breath and he turns his gaze aside, feeling his face heat up once again.

Ichigo was hundred percent certain that Grimmjow would not be talking crap like this if he wasn’t drunk.

The blunet chuckles at his reaction, then closes his eyes and rests his head on his arms again. The bottle was forgotten beside him now, which was perhaps a good thing; who knew what kind of crap he’d spew if he drank more.

”I fucked one of m’ Fraccion on this thing once.”

Ichigo pauses and turns to stare at him with a near scandalized look on his face. Grimmjow just laughs, finding his expression hilarious. The ginger was wondering if he really should move his ass away from this thing after all. His shock is soon replaced by a frown however.

”Why? You don’t...come off as a person who’d care for that kind of intimacy. I mean...”

He pauses, unsure on how to explain it.

He didn’t have to, for Grimmjow could read it from his thoughts. It wasn’t as easy to hear them as usual when his brain was buzzing, but he could still manage.

The blunet wasn’t entirely sure why he kept that channel up, when he could just block Kurosaki’s thoughts from himself as easily as he blocked Kurosaki from his brain, at least if he tried hard enough; the ginger's thoughts were ridiculously loud.

”T’s true that I didn’t give _that_ much shit about them, at least before.”

Grimmjow admits quietly, cracking his eyes open and staring into thin air for a moment.

”N’ yer _also_ right that I’m not exactly keen on havin’ people come ta my personal space. I was like this already before this whole shitshow happened.”

”For a man not keen on touching, you sure like to break other people’s personal space a lot.”

Ichigo jests lightly, unable to help himself.

For his surprise, the man doesn’t get annoyed, or dismiss his jab with a snort.

”Only yours.”

It was so quiet, barely audible response that Ichigo had a feeling the man hadn’t really meant him to hear it.

Maybe he didn’t even realize he was saying it, given his glazed look.

”We don’t do that emotion shit here usually, like ya humans do. That bein’ said, two of ta fuckers clearly had some sorta crush on me. Both tried ta get in my pants for ages, it was both funny and annoying the same time.”

Ichigo found this particular topic extremely awkward, but he did not dare to disturb Grimmjow from his thoughts, especially not when he sounded like he was recalling a surprisingly fond memory, which had to be a nice change in the middle of all this.

”They went so far with it that DiRoy tried ta imitate how I acted. T’was like watching a kitten tryin’ ta look scary. He got n’ a lot of trouble ’cause he coulda not back up his bark. Lost count how many times we dragged his ass outta danger.”

Ichigo remains quiet; he did not know who this DiRoy was, which of the...bodies...he’d seen had been him.

As if reading his thoughts again, Grimmjow glances at the ginger, and suddenly, he could see an image of a silver haired man with an abnormally large mask on his head flash before his mind’s eye. He says nothing to that, just nods slightly, asking Grimmjow to continue silently.

”Yltfordt was smarter than his sorry ass, tho he also tried ta pull off the arrogant act.”

”Act? I thought you were natural.”

The blue eyes drift at him, and for a moment it felt like the blunet wanted to say something, but he decides against it as his gaze falls back to the bottle, and this time he gulps the rest of it down at one go, throwing the empty bottle aside.

”They had this lil competition goin’ on, on who could impress me first. Lionel thought it was funny, Shawlong felt they were being idiots.”

”What did you think?”

”That it _was_ funny, and that they _were_ both fucking idiots.”

Grimmjow comments casually with a shrug, and it felt like such a typical answer, that Ichigo couldn’t stop but chuckle at that.

The blunet glances at him, but doesn’t say anything, nor did he seem offended.

”So...why did you...which one it was?” Why was Ichigo even asking this? Why did it matter to him why Grimmjow had done it, and with whom?

Grimmjow remains quiet for a long time, to the point Ichigo wondered if he’d passed out from the alcohol already.

”I felt like it. T’was around the time I first met yer ancestor. I was pissy and needed to blow off some steam, N’ Yltfordt was more than happy ta help.”

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that.

”So...you did it because you were _pissy?_ ”

Grimmjow just nods with a shrug, informing him that it wasn’t the first time.

”Whichever was ’round then, I’d go with that. Didn’t care either way.”

Ichigo couldn’t stop but frown a little; sure, some humans had casual sex a lot of times as well, but given how Grimmjow had described these two and their thoughts about the blunet, it felt...a little off in Ichigo’s head for him to be doing that. Manipulative, so to say.

” **Don’t start patronizing me,** Kurosaki! It ain’t like ya got any right ta judge me when one of yers caused this mess around us!”

Grimmjow suddenly spats at him, likely having red his thoughts. Ichigo holds his hands up in an apology, but the blunet’s rage cools down as quickly as it came, as he turns his gaze away again, focusing it in nothing in particular.

”’Sides it wasn’t like they didn’t know. Both fuckers were aware I wasn’t into them. They knew I was beyond their level.”

”I...guess so. It still sounds a little iffy to me.”

Ichigo mumbles out honestly, and the man snorts, rolling his eyes.

”There ya go again, judging me with yer human terms. We’re much more relaxed about fucking around casually.”

”Noted.” Ichigo comments dryly.

He couldn’t stay judgmental for long however, as he was aware that humans and hollows saw these things differently. Emotions didn’t matter as much to them as they did to humans. Things like that were perfectly acceptable in Hueco Mundo, more than they were in the human world. Although... it did raise a curious question.

”Why do you guys even have a sex-drive if you don’t reproduce?”

Grimmjow seems to ponder it for a moment, and then shrugs.

”Who the hell knows. Nobody has a clue why we are even born the way we are, nor why our world’s so fucking volatile. It’s just how shit works around here.”

The ginger turns quiet, and he had to wonder; just why the hell did their conversation steer into a such a weird direction.

Sure, Grimmjow _had_ started it, but he _hadn’t_ told the man to knock it off.

Ichigo sighs and rubs his eyes, wondering if the Hueco Mundo atmosphere was messing with his brain.

”I think I should go back to bed.”

He mumbles out, but gains no response. Concerned, Ichigo glances at Grimmjow, and realizes the man had fallen asleep, head still leaning against his knee slightly. It was...kind of bizarre to see honestly, given how jumpy the man had been earlier on.

He’d thrown a hissy fit when Ichigo had sneaked up on him by accident. Perhaps the alcohol was affecting his judgment.

Either way, he couldn’t really leave the man rest there like this; it had to be uncomfortable.

With a sigh, Ichigo gets up and manages to haul the limp figure off the floor - holy hell he was heavy, especially when being a dead-weight like this - and wraps his limp arm around his shoulders. Grimmjow didn’t react much, completely blacked out, so Ichigo managed to bring him back to his room without too much resistance. Instead of putting him to the couch again however, Ichigo drops him to his mattress, figuring the man would be more comfortable like that.

With a sigh, the Shinigami at least grabs his pillow and lies down on the harder surface of the stony couch.

It was about as uncomfortable as he expected, but at least he could lie straight on it, as it was wide enough. Eventually, he manages to fall asleep, not noticing the blue eyes examining him quietly in the surrounding darkness.

 

 

 

Their leader was not surprised to hear that the hollow had failed.

He’d been set up to fail from the start.

Having one of the Espada return did not matter; based on his knowledge, this one was just a pup by hollow standards regardless, one of the younger rulers of the past. That did not mean he was not fierce, and the man was not the type to take unnecessary risks.

The whole reason why he’d given some aid to that ambitious creature was to simply lay some groundwork to his plan.

He’d almost located what he was looking for, and could likely use the returned king to his advantage, let alone the apparent peace-treaty visit one of the current Shinigami leaders was planning to the hollow realm.

Seeing Masaki’s child evolve was also something he was looking forward to with enthusiasm. The boy was an enigma, having so much power in him he wasn’t even aware of yet, yet once it bloomed, he could use it to his advantage.

The man brings the glass of wine to his lips and takes a sip, smiling satisfied. Things would go his way, as always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make Shiro and ichigo's meeting something less typical. Making Shirosaki attack ichi-berry right off the bat felt too predictable, and I just couldn't get the image of hollow-ichi doing that cheek-rub thing off my head, so I HAD to write it.
> 
> Also, I laughed my ass off at that small exchange with Grimm and Nel, and I don't even know why. It wasn't THAT funny.  
> I'm wondering if I should be posting this often, but on the other hand, I should just keep writing while I still have the time and mood I suppose.


	21. fright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo has another chat with his twin, then Grimmjow goes crazy and the Shinigami has to chase after an escaped kitty

”I see....so you were the one who gave that diary to Ichigo on purpose?”

Kisuke nods at her question, glancing towards Yoruichi who just flashes a slight, barely noticeable smirk before going back to her serious visage.

”Yes. Shiba-san made it _very clear_ that having Ichigo learn more about his friend could perhaps help him navigate the difficult situation; he was extremely concerned that our leaders would just destroy the sword if his friend ended up having a really bad fit.”

”So, Ichigo worked as a buffer or something? That didn’t exactly work.”

Renji points out with a frown, glancing at Rukia as he was referring to the possession incident. Urahara hums thoughtfully at that.

”I feel he wasn’t necessarily aware that Jeagerjaquez could have such a bad fit, and even if he was, he didn’t expect his friend to be able to possess Ichigo so easily.”

”Sounds like he had too much faith on his HOLLOW buddy.”

Renji snorts, crossing his arms unimpressed.

Kaien Shiba had been a folk hero, and Renji still respected the guy, but he could not stop but believe that trusting Ichigo with this had been a bad call. Or rather, thrusting the ginger in the middle of this situation had been extremely reckless.

”Well, based on Ichigo’s description of how Jeagerjaquez used to be according to his visions and Kaien’s writings, I can sort of see why he’d make that mistake.”

Rukia states diplomatically, brushing some of her dark locks aside from her face.

”Indeed; Abarai-san, you mustn't forget that this man has gone trough a very traumatizing experience, so it is only natural he may act and come off as hostile towards us. After all, the one that put him in this situation was a Shinigami.”

The redhead grumbles a bit under his breath, but he couldn’t really deny that.

It was still hard to comprehend that Aizen had been some sort of villain; Renji still didn’t _quite_ believe it, hence he wanted to head back to Hueco Mundo alongside Captain Ukitake, to hear directly from the blunet about what the hell had gone down back then exactly.

”You have an awful lot of sympathy for him, despite you’ve never met.”

Rukia points out suddenly, and Urahara looks at her from behind his fan with a stoic look on his face, indicating he was still hiding something.

”Did you not promise to tell us everything?”

”Everything that you _need_ to know to be exact.”

Urahara points out calmly, much to Rukia’s dismay; so whatever he was hiding now wasn’t their concern? The woman seriously doubted that. She glances at Yoruichi as if looking for some aid, but the woman shakes her head firmly.

”Kisuke’s full reasons behind this aren’t really necessary for you two to be aware of.”

She states simply, and Rukia knew from the tone of her voice, that this was the end of that conversation. With a sigh, the raven woman nods, turning her gaze back at her tea. Their preparations to head into Hueco Mundo were still on the way, given Ukitake-san still had to make some arrangements to take a leave from his duties. Kyoraku-san could only take so much of them, as for some things, he just wasn't a suitable man to be handling them.

She couldn't stop but worry about Ichigo, hoping he was okay back there, in a desert filled with monsters.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo woke up the next morning - relatively speaking, as Hueco Mundo didn’t really bask in sunlight that much, stuck in a permanent night - only to find that his mattress was empty.

Grimmjow had apparently woken already and gone off.

It was a little surprising, as Ichigo would have imagined the man would have kicked him awake as well - as in _literally_ kicked given what he’d done with the weird pool of liquid spiritual essence - but apparently he’d let Ichigo sleep.

The ginger gets up, flinching as his back hurt from sleeping on the couch. He sighs and digs trough his supplies to eat something for breakfast, trying to be as preserving as possible given he wasn’t sure how long it would take for Ukitake-san to get there; Shinigami leaders were busy folk, and ichigo was unsure just how important this mission would be on his to-do list.

Granted, if Ichigo really need to, likely Grimmjow would open a portal for him, or he could inform Urahara about his impending starvation, or something.

Once Ichigo was done eating, he gets up and contemplates on what to do. Perhaps he should find his way back to the pool to go and enter his inner world again. Yesterday Shirosaki had kicked his ass pretty bad.

Yes, Ichigo decided to call him Shirosaki, as he was white as chalk, and looked almost exactly like him.

The problem was, he wasn’t exactly sure where the place was; the palace was so vast that it was easy to forget where you were supposed to be going, even if you’d gone down that route before. Perhaps he should try and find Grimmjow first and ask him to show the way again, and preferably NOT kick him in like last time.

While it didn’t do any harm per say, a foot landing on his gut edging towards combat speed hurt like hell. However, as he tries to sense the man’s spiritual pressure, he couldn’t feel anything. It was a little strange, and the ginger frowns, as he steps out of the room, walking across the corridor to head towards the throne room. That place was easy to find at least as every largest corridor led there.

It was strange; perhaps Grimmjow was able to block Ichigo from sensing him altogether due to the link. He was able to block Ichigo from hearing his thoughts after all. As the ginger reaches the throne room, the blunet was nowhere in sight. He does however, spot Nel and her two friends - or subordinates Ichigo supposed - near the thrones.

Nel was sitting on one of them, looking around rather happy.

”Nel can see everything from up here!” The girl declares cheerfully, then shadows her eyes as if peering into the horizon as she looked around. Soon enough, the girl spots the shinigami and waves at Ichigo enthusiastically.

”Itsygo!”

”Hey Nel. Has any of you seen Grimmjow?”

”Kurosaki-san! _Please_ do address him with a proper suffix!” Pesche panics instantly, but the ginger sighs and tells him he’s been calling Grimmjow by his name for a while now, and the man didn’t seem to care.

This surprised Pesche at first seemingly, but then Dondochakka reminds him that their sixth king wasn’t particularly into the whole politeness thing.

”Ah...indeed. He should have been though, his position required it!”

Pesche tsks and shakes his head, like rolling his eyes at some child’s antics.

Ichigo chuckles awkwardly, finding the man’s strange attitude shifts towards Grimmjow kind of hard to follow; one time he was scared, the next he was kind of parenty.

”Nel dunno where Gwimmjow is. Nel is sorry.”

The girl states with a droopy look, and Ichigo reassures the girl it was okay. He then looks up at the two, who glance at each other and shrug.

”He is likely still in the palace, as his aura lingers all over this building. I cannot say where he is exactly."

”Huh, that’s unusual.”

”Nooot really. When this place was fuuull of the Espada, their aura lingered eeeverywhere, ya know. Now that Jeagerjaquez is the oonly one here, his is dominant and present eeeverywhere.”

Dondochakka explains upon hearing his comment, and Ichigo nods, figuring it made sense in some level.

Huh, so even the _other_ inhabitants of the place couldn’t tell where he was?

Perhaps Grimmjow was hiding his presence again mostly, wanting to be alone. Maybe he was suffering from a serious hangover or something and didn’t want them to see it. Could you get a hangover from one bottle?

Sure Grimmjow had said that alcohol works faster on his kind, but did hollows get hangovers?

Ichigo shakes his head with a sigh, figuring he could go and find Grimmjow later.

The ginger asks the group if they could show the way to the pool again.

”Why do you wish to go to Ulquiorra-san’s chambers?” Pesche asks confusedly.

”Itsygo wants to go to the spooky pool again!”

Nel declares as she jumps off the chair and walks to Ichigo, grasping his hand.

”Nel can show Itsygo the way!” With that, she starts dragging the shinigami after her with surprising strength and speed, so fast that Ichigo almost gets dragged across the floor.

 

 

This time he knew to expect the initial coldness, and the feeling of falling asleep.

 

 

Once Ichigo opens his eyes, he was standing on the empty street of his inner world. It was eerily quiet around him, and he could not see his pale twin anywhere.

Ichigo could sense eyes on him however, and he grasps the hilt of his sword instinctively, scanning the area. Perhaps Shirosaki would choose to just head right to the business from the start today.

 

**_Iiichiiii_ **

 

The ginger whips around, but saw nothing. The voice was eerie, quiet whisper in the wind.

”Come on Shirosaki; you know why I came here so there’s no reason to play hide and seek.”

The ginger tells the hollow firmly, looking around cautious. For a moment the voice quites down, then, he hears the whisper call out his name again, this time more enthusiastically.

 

**_Ichiii!_ **

 

He spins around again, but the damn chalk-face refused to show himself.

What the hell was he playing at? Suddenly, something rushes towards him at high speed, and Ichigo barely has enough time to turn around, before he is barreled by a blur of white and stumbles, rolling across the street together.

Once he stops, Ichigo finds himself yet again pinned under his pale twin, who had him on another death-hug while rubbing their cheeks together. Why was this guy so overly affectionate?

_”Ichi gave me a **name!** M’ happy now!” _

The hollow squeals, clearly delighted, and as much as this was annoying and bizarre, part of Ichigo almost felt like smiling.

The hollow was almost like some over eager kid with a violent streak if required.

”Yes I did, now, get off me Shirosaki, I came here for business.”

The hollow moves off him but curls up with a pout, telling Ichigo he wasn’t on the mood.

”I thought we were supposed to work on getting my soul to accept you.”

_”Yeah? Well I dun wanna do tha’ right now!”_

Shirosaki shows his tongue - it was blue and kind of creepily long - at Ichigo, who frowns a little annoyed.

”Why not? You seemed to have fun kicking my ass last time.”

Shirosaki tilts his head as if thinking for a moment, then shrugs.

 

_”I did, but now I dun wanna. I wanna talk wit’ m’ Ichi!”_

 

The hollow glomps him again and Ichigo struggles under the vice grip, once again wondering why the hell his inner hollow was like this. He wasn’t sure if he’d preferred an actual monster or not, but for what he was trying to do, Shirosaki’s behavior wasn’t helping.

”Why you’d need to talk with me? If you _are_ me, you should know everything already.”

Ichigo points out, and feels the pale figure freeze.

Once Shirosaki pulls back he looks almost... _hurt._

The ginger instantly felt bad, though he had no clue what he’d said wrong.

”Look, it’s not like I don’t want to...I guess get to know this side of me more, but you said yourself that I’d need to defeat you in a fight to unlock power or something.”

Shirosaki says nothing, just turns his gaze aside. For a moment they just sort of sat there in awkward silence, up until Ichigo sighs and figures he should humor the overly attached hollow.

” _Fine_ , okay. We can talk for a little bit.”

The golden eyes lit up and he flashes a wide smirk at Ichigo; it kind of reminded him of Grimmjow again, but had less of a predatory feel due to lack of canines.

”But you gotta let go of me so I can breathe properly.”

Ichigo points out, nodding towards the chalk white arms still wrapped around his torso. Shirosaki snickers and lets go of Ichigo, scooting backwards to sit cross-legged.

Ichigo takes in a deep breath, a little unsure about what to do exactly; Shirosaki surely knew everything about him, so what could they possibly talk about?

_”Tha’ was a weird night fer ya, huh?”_

Ichigo blinks, looking at his pale twin confused.

_”Ya right; dun think Kittycat usually drinks. T’was weird s’ hell.”_

Shirosaki holds his chin thoughtfully.

**Oh.**

_Of course_ Shirosaki would have been aware of what happened last night.

 

_”Ya know, he stared ya while ya slept. Dunno what was goin’ n’ his mind ’cause he blocks us.”_

 

The ginger blinks surprised, then frowns as he feels a little unnerved by this revelation.

_”C’mon Ichi, t’s not like he didn’t do it before. He been checking ya out since ya met!”_

Shirosaki snickers, his comment instantly making Ichigo’s cheeks flare up at the thought.

”Shut up! Why would he do that? He didn’t even know me! Maybe it was just because I reminded him of his friend.”

Shirosaki shakes his head amused, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

_”Nuh uh Ichi-berry. He ain’t got a look of someone ponderin’ why yer pretty face looks like somebody they used ta know. Dunno if ta blue kitty realizes it ’imself, but he’s lookin’ at ya like he wanna eat ya.”_

The hollow purrs, flashing a wide grin as he leans his head against his palm, clearly enjoying the intense glow overtaking Ichigo’s features now.

”Really? Did you ask me to chat with you just so you could tease me about Grimmjow?”

_”Mmmaybe?"_

The hollow states with an overly innocent face, gaining a groan from Ichigo.

”Why are you like this?” He mumbles out rubbing his eyes, still trying to swallow down his blush.

Shirosaki just snickers at him, and for a moment the two just sit there in awkward silence. It began to feel like Shirosaki didn't really have any ideas on what to talk about other than teasing Ichigo about Grimmjow. Then, he suddenly gets up and offers his hand to Ichigo.

_”C’mon Ichi. There’s somethin’ I wanna show ya before we get down to business.”_

After a suspicious look aimed at the pale hand, Ichigo takes it, and Shiro leads him across the streets, up until the scenery around them starts to shift again. Instead of the mirrors however, they enter an empty white space, similar to what he’d seen when Kaien had come to talk to him.

”What’s going on Shirosaki?”

The hollow says nothing, just squeezes his hand a bit to make him look towards the direction he was looking.

At first Ichigo could not make out anything. Eventually however, he saw what Shirosaki was looking at. A long, black blade was standing out of the empty scenery, jutting out from what seemed to be a chalk-white rock.

”What is that?”

_”That is yer Zanpakuto. T’s waitin’ for ya ta be ready ta pull it out.”_

Shirosaki explains, turning to look at Ichigo. He was still holding his hand, and the ginger couldn’t stop but wonder why he was doing it. This was only the second time he met this manifestation of his previously unknown hollow blood, but Shirosaki acted like he’d always been waiting for him, or even missed him greatly.

It was just strange.

_”Tha’ old man ya saw in ta distance. He’s yer spirit. Well, part o’ it anyway.”_

Ichigo lifts eyebrow at that, and Shirosaki smiles sheepishly, rubbing his head.

_”Technically, I’m also a part o’ it, but ’cause I’m kind of an ....outsider to yer soul, ya can talk ta me before ya can actually use our powers.”_

Ichigo lifts eyebrow, noting the slight shift in Shirosaki’s tone at the word ’outsider.’

He says nothing to that however, just examines the blade in the distance quietly.

”Why did you show me this?” Shirosaki seems to pause at that, as if trying to think of an actual reason. Eventually, he shrugs, finally letting go of Ichigo’s hand.

_”Felt like ya could do with extra motivation; know how long ya been wantin’ ta have yer proper zanpakuto.”_

The ginger nods after examining his twin quietly for a moment, sensing he seemed almost nervous for some reason.

 

 

_Stop wasting time, hollow. Ichigo needs you to help him._

 

 

A voice echoes in the air, and it seemed to come from the direction the blade was in. Sure enough, a dark cloaked figure stood hovering above it, too far for Ichigo to make out any details. The hollow frowns and looks almost ready to hiss at the figure, but eventually he turns his gaze reluctantly towards Ichigo, snapping his fingers.

Everything around them goes dark, and Shirosaki’s clothes change, as he starts shifting into his more beastly form.

Ichigo takes a fighting stance, pulling out his blade as he readies himself.

 

 

Like last time, the battle was difficult; Shirosaki was fast and swift with his attacks, mirroring each strike Ichigo aimed with his blade with near perfection.

It was kind of surprising just how quick his twin was given the heavy looking horned mask he wore, but that’s just how it was.

After dodging another quick strike of claws aimed at his shoulder, Ichigo backs away several feet, trying to think of a strategy. Shirosaki knew all of his moves, he was a part of him after all, so surprising the chalk faced twin was not easy.

Despite that though, the ginger could not stop but feel that Shirosaki felt reluctant to do this even now, his attacks lacking the usual punch from the previous match.

 

Just as he was about to launch for another attack, a wave of energy suddenly passed over them, and both figures freeze, as if listening to something.

Shirosaki reaches for his mask and shatters it, looking around with a frown. Seconds later, his eyes widen, and he hurries to Ichigo, though not to attack this time. Grabbing the ginger’s shoulders firmly, he shakes his twin, almost frantic.

_”Ya gotta get outta there **now** , Ichi! Kittycat is goin’ crazy!”_

”W-wha?”

 

Before he could ask anything further, Shirosaki shoves him into the darkness, and moments later, he pops up from the water, confused and disoriented.

 

 

 

Nel turned her wide gaze at Ichigo upon noticing him, previously having looked towards the direction of the loud growl she’d just heard. Just as he manages to scramble off from the pool, Pesche and Dondochakka crash trough the door, stumbling all over themselves, stopping in a heap in front of Ichigo.

_”Ichigo-san! This is terrible!”_

Pesche is the first to speak once the dust clears, and the ginger asks him what was going on.

”Jeagerjaquez san! He’s gone beastly again!”

What? As in... that what he’d seen earlier with that big guy?

”Why?”

”We doon’t knooow! It’s scaryy ya know. You gotta help us!” Dondochakka explains, holding his comically large face as if trying to hide behind his palms.

”Itsygo, Nel is worried! Itsygo needs to help poor kitty!”

The green haired girl tugs on his sleeve, her hazel eyes wide and frantic.

”Why me though? What can I do?”

”You’re the _only_ one with even decent strength to use against him! And last time he was in this form he  didn’t hurt you to my understanding.”

Pesche explains quickly, glancing behind just as another loud roar shakes the palace, and Ichigo could hear something big breaking.

Swallowing down nervously, he nods, asking where the blunet was.

”He’s on the same room he was trapped in.”

The ginger sucks in a deep breath and heads out, nearly running towards the direction. The loud roars and sounds of things breaking echoed all around him, and the atmosphere was growing thick with animalistic rage. It was different from before; back when Grimmjow had slain that one hollow, there had been a level of control and sorrow under it.

This was just _pure_ destruction.

Eventually, he reaches the area, and what welcomed him was a rather concerning and terrifying sight; the room had been wrecked already, but now what little bits of walls and murals had survived were now full of holes, the roof having been opened up even more.

Grimmjow was standing in the middle of the destruction, in that same beastly form with cat-like features and the black fur collar, and his spiritual pressure was pulsing out of him in waves, making Ichigo actually feel a little nauseous.

As he shifts to look over his shoulder at Ichigo, the ginger notes something was different from last time; his eyes were completely white, no irises visible. Something told him that was not supposed to happen. Seconds later, the man appears right in front of him, throwing Ichigo against a nearby wall with a snarl.

The impact was strong enough to knock all the air out of Ichigo’s lungs, and now his head was bleeding slightly. Before he could gather himself off the floor, Grimmjow attacks him again, aiming his claws at the ginger’s head. Ichigo quickly brings his hands up to stop it, but holding his claws back from clawing his face off wasn’t that easy; there was a lot of power in those muscles powering the attack.

Grimmjow snarls at him and yanks his arm free, before smacking Ichigo to the side of his face, making him skid and roll across the floor, getting sand on his injury.

It stung like hell, making his vision grow with black and white blotches briefly.

Now there was a nasty bleeding scratch on his neck too, probably having hit a sharp rock on the ground or something. Within seconds, the blunet was on him, snarling at his face and looking about ready to bite his head off.

”Grimmjow, what’s going on?!”

Ichigo attempts to call out for him, but at first it doesn’t seem to work as the blunet just lifts his claws to strike at him again. The ginger manages to bring his hands up again for defence, his brown eyes wide. That’s when the blunet pauses, the impending blades of doom on his fingertips lowering a little as he seems to examine Ichigo more closely, though it was hard to tell due to his all-white eyes.

Slowly, the ginger lowers his hands, swallowing down and trying his best to calm down.

For a long moment, they just stare at each other.

Ichigo could feel the blood dripping from his head and the small cut on his neck, and he was starting to become dizzy slowly. Suddenly, Grimmjow leaned down and the next thing Ichigo knew, the same thing from before happened again. The feline-shaped male was licking the blood off his neck, tracing the cut with his tongue.

His face heat up again, and Shirosaki’s words replayed in his head.

Could Shirosaki be right?

If that so, what should he...how should he react to it?

If Grimmjow _was_ attracted to him in fact, was it because he’d...harbored some thoughts about his friend he never shared, or was there something about _Ichigo_ that he specifically liked?

Was it just because he’d been the first person Grimmjow had connected with after so many years of solitude?

He’d sunken so deep in his thought that Ichigo didn’t notice at first how the wet caresses stopped, and how the former hollow king just sort of curled against him like a cat in need of affection from its owner.

Once he does however, Ichigo manages to push himself up and off the floor, enough to sit up and gaze down at the lapful of feline-shaped hollow he had.

The blunet’s eyes were closed, and his long tail had found its way around Ichigo’s leg, wrapping around the limb like white bony vine.

”Um...”

For a moment the brown eyes just gaze at the weird sight, then he cautiously places a hand on to the wild blue locks, and the man shifts lightly, nuzzling closer to the ginger.

”Okay, this is... _.weird._ ”

Ichigo concludes as he starts petting his hair, scratching it lightly and gaining an approving purr as a response.

Sure, his battle form was a cat, but Ichigo had not seen him act like this before.

Aside from licking his blood, the man had not been weirdly cuddly like this.

Even his aura felt off, strangely animalistic, though not in a sense of bloodlust. More like his aura was very close to what Ichigo felt emanating off from people’s pet cats, though it was a more powerful one.

Eventually, Ichigo feels small steps walk towards them, and moments later, Nel appears beside him, looking at the blue haired figure with a sad and worried look.

”Kitty isn’t okay.”

Ichigo blinks, frowning a bit; now when he thought about it, usually Nel would call the man ’Gwimmjow’ and _not_ a kitty. Did the poor girl understand that this feline shaped figure and the blue haired man were the same person? He wasn't sure nor didn't know how to ask.

 

”Haven’t seen him acting like this before, either.”

Ichigo admits, still mingling his fingers into the blue hair. The blunet seemed soothed right now, and it eas probably for the best to keep petting him as long as Nel was there, as Ichigo feared he’d otherwise attack the poor girl.

”Itsygo is hurt.”

Nel points out suddenly, her eyes going wide as she points at his bleeding head.

”Yeah, it’s worse than it looks though.”

Ichigo lies at the kid with a strained smile, but she didn’t seem to buy it as the child frowns poutily, then walks behind him, examining the wound closely.

”Really Nel, I’m....”

Suddenly, the girl makes a weird gurgling noise, and something wet and sticky lands on Ichigo’s head, making him yelp and turn his head to look at the girl. She was smiling widely, drool dropping from the edges of her mouth. It took him a second to realize; the little shit had just _puked_ her saliva all over his head.

_**”What the hell Nel!?”** _

The ginger demands, trying to get the yucky substance off his hair.

”Itsygo was bleeding. Nel’s drool can heal so Nel decided to heal Itsygo!”

”What are you even...”

Abruptly, the ginger notices that his dizziness and the sting was slowly disappearing, and as he touches the spot, there wasn’t that much blood there anymore. He just stares at the girl wide eyed, having never ever heard of such a thing.

Healing saliva?

What the hell.

Nelliel’s gaze drifts back at Grimmjow, and her expression shifts back to the sad one.

”Kitty was upset; Nel could hear it from his roar.”

”Yeah, I mean...he’s gone trough a lot.”

Ichigo mumbles out, fingers mingling deep into the blue hair. Earlier shenanigans wit Nel’s ’healing’ didn’t seemingly stir him from whatever trance or slumber he was currently in, though he was no longer purring.

”Do you have any clue what he was doing before this happened?”

”Nel does not know; Nel watched after Itsygo the whole time.”

Right.

”I suppose I’ll have to ask your buddies about it later.”

He says with a sigh, turning his gaze back at the feline beast on his lap. Grimmjow was pretty warm, and the way his feline ears were sort of twitching if Ichigo’s fingers scratched nearby them was kind of.... adorable.

”How can something this powerful manage to look like a cute fucking kitten?”

He mumbles out with a low chuckle.

A slight growl escaped from Grimmjow at that moment, but it wasn’t threatening per say, just miffed. It only made him appear _cuter_ right now, ironically.

 **Wait,** what was he thinking?

This, whatever this was, had to be serious, and he was just sitting here, petting Grimmjow like he was some damn housecat, when he’d just been trashing the place, having apparently lost control over himself again for some reason.

This was **not** the time to be thinking he was adorable, or otherwise attractive.

”Grimmjow...”

He called out cautiously, stopping his fingers from caressing the blue hair for a moment. The man doesn’t react, and Ichigo wonders if he’d really fallen asleep. It was hard to tell given his face was hidden from the ginger’s view.

Then, he suddenly felt it.

It was like a flood gate had opened; Ichigo hadn’t even realized that the blunet had still been blocking his senses somewhat, not until a sudden wave of negative emotions hit him, and he could feel the figure in his lap shake lightly.

It was such an overwhelming mixture of sorrow, frustration and anger, that Ichigo almost found his own heart aching again, and he had to bring a hand up to hold his chest a bit as he bit his lip to not wince and let out a pathetic whimper.

Glancing at Nel, large tears began to pour from her eyes, but she also bit her lip hard, keeping her mouth shut as if knowing that wailing could perhaps disturb the volatile beast clinging to Ichigo and trigger another violent fit.

Ichigo began to wonder; had Grimmjow reverted to this form because the bottled up emotions had finally broken to the surface, making the man unable to stop himself.

Claws sank to the ground beside Ichigo all of a sudden, dragging across the surface and leaving deep marks in their wake.

His shaking was getting worse, and Ichigo could hear the low snarl slipping out from Grimmjow’s throat; it felt like he was fighting back to urge to destroy more things.

Ichigo was stuck in a bad position and knew if the blunet would throw another fit, he’d be the first in line to be injured.

”Grimmjow, calm down; I understand you’re beyond upset right now, but trashing this place won’t help.”

The ginger tries to reach him again, planting his free hand on the man’s shoulder gently.

That was apparently the _wrong_ thing to say, as the blunet snarls loudly, shifting up and smashing him against the floor by grabbing his throat.

Nel lets out a panicked yelp and falls on her butt, crawling away backwards in fear.

The feline beast snarls down at Ichigo, the hand on his throat squeezing so hard it was cutting off his air. The ginger attempts to grasp the hand and throw it off him, but like usual, he didn’t have enough strength to do so. Hollows were physically much more powerful than humans after all.

_”...Grimm....”_

Ichigo manages to cough out, tugging on the man’s wrist still, his vision growing blurry.

A second later, the hand releases his throat and Ichigo gasps out loudly, watching as the feline figure leaves the room, as if heading somewhere.

”Oh no! Kitty is running away!” Nel exclaims, which sounded kind of a funny thing to say at this moment.

Ichigo had no time - or will - to laugh at that right now however, as he gets up once his vision clears, running after the blunet frantic. He passes by Pesche and Dondochakka, who’d gone after Nel the second they’d noticed she’d disappeared again, and they look after Ichigo confused. To the ginger’s horror, he realizes the feline had sprinted out of the palace, leaping the long way down to the desert. As he reaches the ledge of the cliff the man had gone down from, Ichigo stops, gazing after the figure highly concerned.

Sure, Grimmjow was likely the most powerful thing here right now, but he was clearly in the middle of something he couldn’t control again, and he could perhaps end up injuring himself or something.

Maybe it was an irrational worry, but Ichigo did _not_ want to leave him by himself out there, not when his emotional state was this bad, even if the man himself didn't realize or refused to admit it.

”I have to go after him!”

Ichigo declares and turns around just as Pesche and Dondochakka arrive there with Nel in tow, asking what was going on.

”Grimmjow ran out; I think he’s not in control of himself right now...”

Pesche glances outside, his face in a deep worried frown.

”That is likely. He was already very likely to lose control in his soul-merging form, but given this one is fractured, it is even more likely Jeagerjaquez-san is not aware of his actions.”

Wait, what?

”What do you mean fractured?” Ichigo asks confused; he didn’t even really know what that soul-merging meant.

Pesche seemed to realize it too. ”Ah, that is right! We never informed you about this Ichigo-san. Jeagerjaquez-san was one of our _very_ few Espada who was able to merge his soul together with his Zanpakuto spirit. It’s a _highly_ powerful skill, but requires a lot of control. Neither him nor Ulquiorra-san were able to control it very well, but his case was worse.”

Merging with your zanpakuto spirit? That was new.

”Now, when Pantera appears to be gone, it seems this form of his is _not_ working as it should; not only does it activate at random, its not... complete, hence it doesn’t really appear as it would normally, and he also loses his mind completely.”

That did not sound good _at all._

Perhaps... back when Grimmjow had accidentally possessed him, that’s what had happened?

That broken form had activated randomly.

”Nel saw kitty be nice to Itsygo at first. Then kitty got angry.”

Nel points out suddenly, making everyone turn and look at her. The ginger frowns, knowing the girl had a point. If Grimmjow had lost all control, it did not explain why he’d been non-hostile towards him briefly.

Not just now, but back then when he’d killed Fischer.

Ichigo was fairly sure that form had been similar to what he’d seen now, except for the eyes.

”Last time...his eyes weren’t blank; they were like average hollow eyes.”

Pesche looks surprised upon hearing that, and holds his weird insect like chin.

”That is... interesting. Perhaps there is some sort of instinctual recognition going on; you DO look like Kaien-san after all.”

Perhaps. Or perhaps it was something else. Either way, he had to get out there and find Grimmjow, and fast.

Ichigo hurries back to his supplies and checks trough everything to see what he could need. The scanner would be good in case Grimmjow would be blocking his senses again. The ginger also picks up the training sword that had been left for him. It wouldn’t be ideal considering how easily he broke those things, but it was better than nothing.

”I do not recommend going out there alone; it is highly dangerous!”

Pesche warns him, but Ichigo just gives him a stern look.

”Your King is missing, and I might be the only person able to snap him out of whatever this was.”

The hollow goes quiet, then nods firmly.

”Then I believe we should accompany you for this journey; it is our duty to aid our rulers when needed, even those whose rule we don’t directly fall under.”

Ichigo didn’t know how much could these guys actually do, but the same time he appreciated the bravery, even if he could tell Pesche’s legs were shaking. Whenever he was afraid of leaving the palace or facing Grimmjow right now, Ichigo didn’t really know.

”Thanks, but I don’t think you guys should leave this place; it’s the safest spot to be for Nel, and I doubt you want to leave her alone.”

Pesche pauses, glancing at Nel who was looking at them with that worried look in her wide hazel eyes. The shinigami had a point, but...

”You may not find your way back to the palace on your own!”

”I can just track your spiritual auras if needed. Though I am pretty sure once he snaps out of it, Grimmjow will show us the way back!”

Ichigo throws his supply back over his shoulder, attaching the blade to his hip as he heads out. The hollow yells more warnings after him, but Ichigo was out of sight too quickly to hear them.

 

 

 

Hueco Mundo itself was shaking, the aura of energy and power coating its every nook and cranny, bubbling and pulsing with something akin to thrill and excitement.

Every single being in this desert landscape knew it; **their King was back.**

Their King was back... and **furious.**

The fierce aura pierced trough every hollow, big and small that dared to step too close to the dominant pressure emanating from the feline beast, weaker ones turning to dust altogether, others feeling their masks crack and backing away in terror.

Some peeked out from their hides and caves, looking what the commotion was all about, only to back away and hide into the shadows in fear upon hearing the vicious roar echoing trough the empty space.

There had been those, who’d not understood danger.

Those newborns, born after the fall of their Kings and Queens.

Now, the King was covered in their blood, as he reaped trough the fools attempting to challenge him.

None of the older ones bothered to warn them; if a King wished to slay a few, they were not ones to try and change it. Especially if it was the Hunter King doing it. It was his task, to weed out those seen as threats to the balance of this volatile world. Even if in the back of their heads, some wondered if this _was_ what the King was doing right now.

After shredding trough another poor fool, the beastly ruler roars, his aura so dense and powerful right now that it could be felt miles and miles away.

Easily for even Ichigo to sense it.

As the ginger feels the powerful pulse, he quickly heads towards it.

Things didn’t look good; he’d come across several remnants of dead hollows, injured hollows, or just frightened ones. None had even tried to approach him despite likely sensing he was a human. Soon enough, he stops next to a larger pile of rocks at the edge of a sand dune, and looks down, his eyes wide and his heart beating frantic in his chest.

Grimmjow was standing in the middle of quite the carnage, several hollows torn and shred to pieces at his feet. While Ichigo KNEW this was how majority of hollows operated anyway - they killed and consumed each other on a daily basis - he felt his stomach twist unpleasantly.

Grimmjow was **not** supposed to do this.

He was not supposed to create so much havoc, he'd told about it himself; he'd only slay those who threatened the peace of this realm. Ichigo highly doubted any of those hollows killed had done that.

Blood dripped down his body, some of it dissolving to the golden dust before it hit the ground.

As he roars again, another pulse of energy escapes his body, and Ichigo could SEE it traverse across the landscape like a pressure wave from an explosion.

As it hit him, the ginger almost gets thrown back this time, it was just that powerful. Then, the feline beast snaps his head towards Ichigo, having sensed his spiritual pressure hit the shinigami.

”Shit!”

Ichigo grasps his sword to guard himself as the man shoots up with a snarl, attempting to slash his head clean off.

It doesn’t land as the ginger manages to leap out of the way, rolling across the sand and skidding to a halt in a crouch, blade in hand now. He swallows down hard as he sees the rock the beastly Grimmjow had struck instead slice to pieces with perfectly clean cuts. The feline turns around to glare at him, hissing at the ginger who holds his blade up, not knowing what to do.

It was _clear_ the man was too far gone at the moment for Ichigo to reach him.

Which really left only two options; fight or run. Ichigo didn’t really want to do neither.

He doesn’t really have an option however, as Grimmjow was on the offensive again, leaping towards him and whipping around, kicking him into the air before slashing him across the face with the tail. It felt about as painful as a whip would, and Ichigo understood briefly what Renji must’ve felt when he’d done that when possessed. He stumbles to the sand, rolling several feet back, before stopping

. His head was spinning, but the shinigami didn’t have much time to sit around as Grimmjow was already charging towards him. Ichigo quickly dodges the claws aimed at his head, making them sink deep into the sand instead. The ginger uses this brief moment of distraction to kick Grimmjow in the face, make him fall back with a snarl.

The beast lunges at him again, but Ichigo brings his blade up, stopping the claws aimed at him.

”Snap out of it! This isn’t like you!”

Ichigo attempts to reach at the man, while blocking the claws constantly trying to sink into his flesh. He puts more strength to his grip on the blade and swings it, managing to force Grimmjow back a bit.

The next second, he has to leap aside to dodge a swift roundhouse kick aimed at him, and the ginger takes a long leap back to recollect himself.

How the hell was he supposed to do this?

 

_Dun be scared ta attack ’im, Ichi._

 

What? Was that....

 

_T’s fine; ya can’t actually kill ’im with tha’ but ya gotta try harder or he’ll kill ya._

 

”But I don’t...I don’t want to hurt him!”

Ichigo protests as he yet again is forced to use his blade to keep the inches long claws from sinking into his flesh.

 

_This is why ya struggle, Ichi. Ya hold back too much all ta time. Lemme handle this; you think of a way ta wake the kittycat up._

 

”Wait, what do you...”

Suddenly he felt like he was sinking, as his vision goes black. He soon finds himself back in his inner landscape, though alone this time. He could tell that Shirosaki had taken his body over for now, as he could still feel the sensations from outside world, even if he had no control over what his body did. 

"Shirosaki, wait!"

 

It was too late, his pale twin had already stepped outside.

 

The next second, a rather large burst of energy emanates from the ginger’s body, and Grimmjow is pushed back with widened eyes, confused as to where did that come from. A lilted laughter fills the air, and Ichigo’s hair drains from its color the same time as his hair bleaches.

”Sorry kitty cat, ya gotta play wit’ me fer a bit!”

The morphed figure snickers at Grimmjow, before swinging his sword to attack the beast.

Grimmjow dodges the attack, though Shirosaki manages to slash bits of his hair. He lets out a snarl and slashes at the white figure, who just grins and blocks it with his zanpakuto, before kicking the beast aside, actually making him collide against the leftovers of the rock he’d destroyed.

”Ichi-berry’s too nice. I mean, I like ’im too when he’s nice ta me n’ all, but ya can’t tame a beast by bein’ sweet an’ cuddly, can ya, kitty?”

Shirosaki laughs and swings his sword again blocking and striking in rhythm with his opponent’s attacks.

He was quite _enjoying_ himself if Shirosaki was honest, but he was only doing this to stall for time, until his better half got an idea on how the hell they could fix the situation.

Shirosaki snarls a bit as a tail whips against his face, creating a deep cut across it.

The red blood stood out his pale complexion rather strongly, but he didn’t really care too much, just licking it away as it reaches close to his lips.

”Now now, aren’t ya bein’ a mean kitty. That ain’t how a king shoulda act ya know?”

Shirosaki giggles as the beast roars at him, claws ready to slash and tear his body to pieces if allowed.

It stirred this instinctual part of Shirosaki’s being, him being a hollow.

However, he _wasn’t_ your typical hollow.

He was _not_ made to battle and consume others, to kill or be killed. Shirosaki was an odd one out, not born in Hueco Mundo, so he didn't follow the rules of this place.

In his mind, his _sole_ purpose was to protect his Ichi.

So, despite the thrill coursing in his veins over the bloodthirsty look aimed at him, Shirosaki ignores the silent need to respond to it with as much ferocity, and simply focuses and blocking the attacks for now, calling out for Ichigo to see if he had any ideas.

 

_I don’t know! Last time it wasn’t this bad! My voice cannot reach him..._

 

Great, that wasn’t helpful at all.

Another slash, dodged by the pale figure jumping aside, before his blade was needed again. Shirosaki noted that it did not seem like Grimmjow’s attacks had any particular rhyme or reason to them; it was very animalistic.

Shirosaki somehow doubted this was how Grimmjow usually fought.

”Ya gotta come up wit’ somethin’ Ichi-berry! This was yer idea!”

 

_MY IDEA? You're the one that pushed me out of the way!_

 

"Cause ya coulda have died otherwise, stupid berry! Start thinking!"

 

_I’m trying!_

 

Suddenly, a tail wraps around his ankle and Shirosaki is thrown off balance, allowing Grimmjow to land a sharp kick to his gut, sending the figure fly across the desert until he crashed into another pile of rocks.

Disoriented, the pale figure did not notice the looming danger up until the beast had him pinned, ripping the sword off his hand and breaking it to pieces.

”Okay, this _ain’t_ lookin’ good.”

Shirosaki mumbles out, his eyes slightly widened.

Once again, his primal urged tugged on him to respond to the animalistic energy aimed at him, but Shirosaki _refused_ to do anything like that without his Ichi’s permission. So, instead, he brings his arms up to block the claws trying to claw his face, feeling more blood drip down his pale skin when the black nails sunk into his flesh. It hurt pretty bad, making him flinch.

 

_Maybe I should try to reach out to him again_

 

”Woulda be easier if ta kitty didn’t keep blocking us.”

Suddenly, the claws left his arms, and the next second Shirosaki feels his wrists be forcibly pinned above his head, as the beastly Grimmjow growls down at him lowly.

Golden eyes widen and the pale figure looks up at the man pinning him, suddenly feeling something _new_ tug in his gut.

His earlier thrill was replaced by _dread_ , and even Ichigo took notice of Shirosaki’s sudden blight.

 

_Shirosaki? What’s wrong?_

 

The pale figure doesn’t respond, instead, he lets out a slight, fearful mewl as the blunet suddenly leans closer, teeth grazing Shirosaki’s neck.

It did not seem that much different from what Grimmjow had done earlier, but Ichigo could feel his twin was **terrified** for some reason.

 

_Shirosaki, what’s going on? What’s he doing?_

 

The twin still doesn’t respond, overtaken by some sort of primal fear he didn’t understand. 

All he knew he wanted to get away all of a sudden, but his body was frozen.

The sharp teeth sank against his flesh, and perhaps some part of Shirosaki could have enjoyed it – he wasn’t sure, given he had been awoken to existence only recently – but right now he felt immense terror over it.

He could feel his blood drip down his shoulder now, but that’s not what freaked him out; it wasn’t _Ichi’s_ blood the beast was interested in, but the hollow essence mixed in it.

In other words, him.

 

“Ichi…”

That tiny, frightened call kicked Ichigo into action, and he did the only thing he could think of.

Taking back part of his control again with surprising ease, he forces their body to move, and grasps the bony crown on Grimmjow’s forehead.

The effect was _instant_ as the hollow jumps back with a snarl, eyeing him with a mixture of offence and unease.

A hollow’s mask was pretty important; breaking it could mean death, though Ichigo wasn’t sure if it meant the same thing here, given the mask wasn’t on its usual spot.

His brown eyes were wide, as he quickly understood what had Shirosaki so frightened all of a sudden after making sense of the chaotic thoughts emanating from his frightened mental companion.

The beast had tried to _eat_ him, as in devour his soul, or at least the essence that was Shirosaki within Ichigo.

 

THAT explained his behavior back then, it wasn’t his blood; it was _Shirosaki._

 

Grimmjow growls at him, staring crouched to his fours, tail whipping wildly behind him.

He was clearly a bit more cautious now, although Ichigo wasn’t too sure why, given he doubted he could’ve actually ripped the bony structure off his head.

“Grimmjow…please, calm down.”

Ichigo speaks quietly now, keeping his hands up to try and appear non-threatening. The beast snarls at him but doesn’t move.

“Nel and others are worried.” he tries again, slowly shifting to try and stand up.

Upon hearing the threatening snarl however, he stops, opting to sit on the sand, keeping his gaze at the blunet. It felt a little like he was trying to deal with a scared wild animal that could either bolt or attack him again if he made one wrong move. Ichigo thought feverishly on what to do, and then an idea popped in his head. Telling the man to calm down probably wasn’t going to get them anywhere, but perhaps… he could try to reach for the reasons _behind_ this episode.

Ichigo had a hunch on what it was after all.

“I _know_ you’re furious at him right now, for doing this. I would be too.”

The blunet freezes, and while it was hard to tell given his eyes were nothing but glowing white sclera, Ichigo could sense he was staring at him intently now.

“He just wanted to save you; he saw no other way to do it. Perhaps it was a hasty decision, but we cannot reverse it.”

A low growl emanated from Grimmjow’s chest, but it wasn’t as furious as before.

“It was a sacrifice he was willing to make to help his beloved friend.”

Upon stating that to the former hollow king, Grimmjow snarls and shifts to curl up with a slight whimper, clutching his head.

Perhaps this would work, even if Ichigo hated seeing that.

“You keep hiding how bad that affected you, because you think people’ll think you’re weak, right?”

The blunet hisses at him, glancing at the ginger. The gold-and-black eyes had returned, indicating Ichigo was on a right track.

“We _don’t_ ; _**I** _ sure as _hell_ don’t. I only don’t want you to keep holding this all back.”

Hesitantly, Ichigo shifts closer, reaching towards the curled up figure. A hiss stops him on his tracks, but he doesn’t move back anymore.

“I get that you hollows normally don’t have to deal with this kind of stuff, but… _I do._ I can help you with it if you just let me…”

He kept his tone as gentle as possible, and reaches for Grimmjow again.

This time he doesn’t hiss, and allows Ichigo to plant a hand lightly on his arm.

_“Please.”_

A light, whimpering groan escapes from the bundle, and the next second, a feline leg kicks him back as the blunet starts twitching restlessly, getting on his feet shakily as he grabs his head, claws sinking into his hair deep enough that blood seeped through between the strands.

Ichigo attempts to get closer once he pulls himself up, but a pulse of energy leaving Grimmjow’s body all of a sudden forces him to stumble backwards and land on his ass in the sand. The feline beast starts to glow, and a roar escapes his throat, sending another pulse traverse across the sandy plains of Hueco Mundo. This roar wasn’t angry, it was grieving.

Then, Ichigo watches in shock as he grabs his bony crown himself, and tears it off, pieces of it as well as blood dripping to the ground almost in slow motion.

Everything went dead silent.

Ichigo watches as Grimmjow shifts slowly back to more human form, blood still running down his face and head.

Most of the blood from the hollows he’d killed had already disappeared, but there were still some bits on him. The ginger remains quiet even after the spiritual pressure around him vanishes, leaving him standing there in the moonlight with a heavily weary expression, staring into thin air.

Eventually, Ichigo gathers his courage to get up and walk to him, a slightly shaky hand landing on the broad shoulder.

 _ **“Don’t.”**_ Grimmow tells him with a low growl, shaking the hand off him.

Ichigo pulls it back as if he was burned, but says nothing.

After a moment of silence, the blunet turns his back to Ichigo.

“Let’s go back before yer sorry ass gets eaten.”

The ginger says nothing, just nods and heads to gather the supplies he’d dropped in the heat of the moment. He could feel that Grimmjow was highly tense, not wanting to talk or even look at him right now.

 

 

 

The blunet gazed at the sleeping ginger in silence.

They’d eventually made their way back to the palace, and the two idiots clearly wanted to know what happened, asking dozens of questions.

Grimmjow ignored them, just marching straight into his room. Kurosaki had eventually followed him, looking at the man like he desperately wanted to say something, but resigned to the fact Grimmjow didn’t want to talk after the fact the man had turned his back to the ginger.

Ichigo had tried to reach his hollow-twin, but apparently the pervy little shit was too freaked out to talk right now.

Grimmjow didn’t blame him.

He’d near forgotten that on the worst episodes of this bullshit, a certain _thing_ that normally wasn’t a problem with somebody of his level emerged.

A _hunger_ that was typical to most hollows below his level.

It was a morbid detail, caused by the brokenness of his soul merging second release.

Without Pantera, his instincts would completely overtake him, and frustratingly, the need to consume souls was one of those instincts.

Just because his kind didn’t _need_ it or have the hunger usually, it didn’t mean they could not do it.

The worst part was the fact that Kurosaki’s soul was tempting.

To be exact, the hollow essence within him seemed to really awaken that instinctive thirst in him when on that damned beast form.

After all, even the loopiest of moments would **never** make somebody of his level desire _human_ souls.

In the end, they did not give you that much power, unlike what some hollows chose to believe for whatever stupid ass reason.

…That being said, Grimmjow could not ignore the fact his more instinctive side did seem to _like_ the scent of Kurosaki’s soul.

So much so that even when back to normal, he could STILL fuckin’ smell it.

At first, Grimmjow had shrugged all these strange thoughts and urges in his brain as a result of being alone for so long, and having the ginger bastard remind his…friend so much.

But he could not really keep using that excuse for long, the blunet knew it.

Hell, if Kaien’s likeness would have had an effect, he would’ve NEVER thought of the little shit as attractive.

He’d also be more opposed to his urges than he actually was.

Ichigo shifts in his sleep, curling up a bit as slight whimper escapes his lips. it reminded him of the sound his pale twin had made when controlling his body, and he could feel that same hungry urge raise its ugly head within him again, making him lick his teeth.

 

Grimmjow absolutely _hated_ it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
> I was supposed to add more detail to the fight with Shiro and ichigo, but I had a few reasons to do otherwise  
> 1\. this chapter was more about Grimmjow's breakdown anyway, learning more detail behind it  
> 2\. Its...kind of a hint at how important those Shirosaki vs Ichigo fights actually are. Something that will get addressed later  
> 3\. Right now I did not have the vibe to fight detailed fight scenes. probably later
> 
> Also. Ichigo isn't the only berry who has things to learn, as you might be able to deduce, or maybe not.


	22. hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grimmjow is struggling with something his level of a hollow should not, and it is really starting to become a dangerous issue.

When Ichigo woke up, Grimmjow was there this time, still asleep on the couch.

The ginger felt hesitant to leave him by himself after yesterday’s incident, but he really needed to try and talk to Shiro. It had been such a bizarre shift; his hollow twin had been enjoying himself at first, then everything had _changed_ all of a sudden, once Grimmjow had him pinned.

Just... why was that?

The ginger checks through his bag, noting that his food supply was already running low; he must’ve dropped some stuff to the desert earlier.

With a sigh, Ichigo eats a small breakfast, before putting his things away again. Upon looking up, the ginger notes Grimmjow had woken up, and was sitting now, rubbing his eyes. His expression was extremely worn out, like back when he’d turned back to normal. The ginger wanted to say something so bad, but he didn’t know what he could say.

Finally, the blunet turns his gaze at Ichigo.

Neither of them spoke a word, just gazed at one another.

”You really scared Shirosaki.”

Ichigo almost wants to smack himself; that definitely _wasn’t_ the right thing to say!

Grimmjow doesn’t seem to care, as he just turns his gaze away and brushes trough his hair with a tired sigh. He looked very devoid of energy right now, as if yesterday’s outburst burned everything he had for the moment. It was really alarming to see.

”I meant what I said, you know.” Ichigo comments softly.

”Get out.”

_”Grimmjow.”_

Ichigo huffs out now a little frustrated and walks to the man, grasping his shoulder.

The blunet snatches his wrist however, and glares up at him with a weighed look that wanted to be angry but just couldn’t find the energy to do so.

”Not now, just.... **Go.** ”

There was a level of finality to his voice, and Ichigo felt a strange weight settle against his mind, as if something was coaxing him to leave the room.

Fine, it was not like Grimmjow was the only moody hollow he had to deal with right now.

 

 

 

 

 

Since reaching for Shiro trough his mind didn’t work - plus he still didn’t know how to do it anyway - Ichigo heads for the pool again.

Nel accompanied him on the way, asking questions about what had happened. The ginger avoided the goriest details, just stated that Grimmjow had let off some steam and then managed to snap out of it after few carefully selected words from Ichigo.

”Nel feels sad when Gwimmjow is sad.”

”Say...why did you call him kitty earlier? You usually use his name. ….Are you aware that the white feline and him are the same person?”

Ichigo had to ask, he’d been wondering about this. Nel pauses, and then holds her chin thoughtfully for a moment.

”Gwimmjow feels less scary to Nel when Nel calls him a kitty, but Pesche said Nel should not do that, he said Gwimmjow could get mad.”

Ookay that probably made some sort of sense in a child’s brain or so; it also answered his question on whenever she was aware the two were the same. Once they arrive to the pool Ichigo pauses on the edge, wondering if it would be safe to jump in. What if Grimmjow would snap again while he was there?

”Itsygo dun need to worry. Gwimmjow is too tired to turn into a cat and go running.”

The ginger glances at her and sighs, hoping she was right.

 

 

 

His inner world was different this time.

Everything was dark, like the night had been plunged into darkness. The atmosphere was riddled with anxiety as well, and it did not take too long to find the source.

Shirosaki was curled up in a corner between two buildings, hugging his knees and swinging a little like a frightened child. It was so bizarre.

”Shirosaki.” Ichigo calls out to him gently, and the figure stiffens, but doesn’t move.

The ginger walks to him carefully, and sits down beside his pale twin, who finally lifts his head and looks up at Ichigo with wide eyes.

He would’ve never thought a _hollow_ could look this much like a scared child.

Then again, he’d met Nel.

”Are you...okay?”

_”I dun get it Ichi.”_

The hollow twin mumbles out as he turns his gaze away and then suddenly leans his head against Ichigo’s shoulder. The ginger stiffens at first, but then allows him to do so, sensing his twin gained comfort from this physical contact.

_”I dunno why I freaked out. I just....”_

His twin curls up a little more, sounding almost ashamed.

_”I wanted ta help ya, but I couldn’t...m’ body woulda not move when...”_

It felt like Shirosaki didn’t know exactly how to describe what happened. He sounded frightened, confused, and angry with himself.

 ** _How_** was this being related to the vicious monsters outside in any way?

Awkwardly, Ichigo brings an arm around Shirosaki’s shoulder to comfort him, not knowing what else to do.

”I...Pesche told me something about that form being ’broken’ so Grimmjow ends up having urges he normally wouldn’t have.”

Ichigo explains quietly, and the golden eyes flicker towards him briefly.

”I guess....normally he would not have had the urge to...you know...”

 

_”T’was freaky. I mean, I knew I coulda have kicked ’im off, I got the strength ta do so, but m’body just...froze. I dunno why, I could’ve dealt with it!”_

 

Shirosaki groans and ruffles his hair, tugging on it so harsh Ichigo worried he’d leave bald spots. He was clearly highly frustrated with himself, and confused as to what had happened.

”Hey, it’s okay. I supposedly the prospect of getting eaten could freak anybody out.”

Shirosaki grabs his shoulders suddenly and shakes him, his lilting voice bouncing all around Ichigo’s skull as he yelled at the ginger.

_”T’s not! I’m not supposed ta be scared o’ him! I wasn’t! I could’ve handled ’im! I...I...”_

He backs away and curls up again, rocking back and forth.

_”....I dunno what happened.”_

Ichigo examines him for a long moment, not really having anything to say that could probably make this better. He did not know exactly what happened either, nor did he quite understand what Shirosaki was trying to say. He’d only just met him after all, so there were a lot of things he didn’t understand about his pale twin.

Like why he was like he was, what he’d meant with the whole outsider thing earlier, and so on.

”I can’t say I understand fully this whole deal with you, but...I’ll try and talk with Grimmjow about this. Maybe he can give a better idea of the whole thing. He’s a hollow too right? He’s more likely to have a clue. Or I can ask those two.”

Shirosaki glances at him, still looking upset.

_”Ya should be mad at me.”_

What?

”Why would I be?” Ichigo asks baffled, and the hollow looks away, hiding his face slightly behind his arms and knees.

_”Cause I tried ta help, but only made a mess.”_

The ginger frowns at that, and places a hand on his twin’s shoulder.

”Don’t speak nonsense. You gave me some time to take a breather and think. I doubt I could’ve come up with the idea of touching his mask and then talking to him like that had you not gotten me time.”

Shirosaki didn’t seem convinced, but he uncurls a bit.

”C’mon. Gather yourself. I’m sure we’ll figure out what happened.”

Eventually, the pale figure nods, his eyes still wide and slightly anxious.

 

 

 

Once Ichigo leaves the pool and dries off - which he just now realizes didn’t actually take that long when comparing to water, as the liquid spiritual essence just sort of evaporated into particles within few moments, leaving his hair as dry as if it had never touched a drop of liquid - and heads back with Nel in tow, searching for Grimmjow.

To his relief the man was still in his room and seemed to be fine mostly.

”Can you go to your two buddies Nel? I need to talk with Grimmjow.”

The girl looks up at him confused, but eventually nods and heads out to find her two followers. Ichigo hoped she wouldn’t get lost, but for now, the palace had been safe, so as long as she stayed within the building walls, the girl would be fine. Ichigo couldn’t stop but wonder though; could she ever be healed and returned back to her original form.

Perhaps...Inoue could help?

Her healing ability went _beyond_ basic healing after all, though Ichigo didn’t know if it would work on hollow masks.

Once he reaches the room, Ichigo notes Grimmjow hadn’t moved from his spot, still staring at the wall with that same tired frown on his face.

Cautiously, Ichigo walks there to slowly sit on his line of sight. The blue eyes come back from staring into thin air and turn to look at him, but the man said nothing.

”Could you please tell me now what happened?”

He asks softly after a moment of contemplating his words. He could not be sure if Grimmjow was any more willing to share his thoughts now, but he had to try.

”Which part?”

The man grunts, rubbing his eyes.

”The part where I freaked out, or the part where I went on a rampage in Hueco Mundo, or when I tried ta devour yer mental hollow twin? Which part you’d want?”

His voice was very bitter and irritated, though most of it was aimed at the blunet himself.

”....I suppose _all_ of it, but I mostly want to know about the last one. I thought your kinds did not need to devour souls.”

”…….No we don’t. T’s like feedin’ too much pressure into a tiny space. It’s gonna blow, an' take a lot of shit with it.”

Grimmjow mumbles under his breath, all of his irritation replaced by the exhaustion again. Ichigo couldn’t stop but feel uneasy about it; was this tiredness to be expected after what occurred, or was there something else going on?

More than what Ichigo figured he was hiding.

”It’s...I normally **don’t** have ta urge to feed on souls. I _could_ do it if I wanted to fer some reason, but why bother when ya don’t even feel like it?”

That made sense.

”But... something is different in that form, correct?”

Grimmjow nods, rubbing his eyes.

He shifts to lean against the back of the couch and rests his head atop of it, closing his eyes for a moment with a sigh.

”Without Pantera, that form’s gonna go **_berserk_**. It don’t need to feed, but it _wants_ to, real bad as well. She was...even when I'd go crazy, she made sure I would never trigger that one instinct that was _unnecessary_ ta somebody as strong as me. Don't ask why we even have it if we don't need it, as it's right along the shit of _'nobody has a fuckin' clue why._ ”

It was a little strange to have Grimmjow refer that form as a separate entity, when Ichigo was fairly certain it was not the same case as with what was happening with him and Shirosaki apparently.

That beast was not an alien presence within Grimmjow’s head with its own thoughts and feelings.

Then again, Ichigo couldn’t see in his head as Grimmjow mostly didn’t let him.

”Why only him though? It didn’t seem like you... it, had any interest in me. Shirosaki is technically a part of me, in some way at least.”

”Define interest.”

Ichigo blinks confused upon seeing the wry smirk on the man’s face, but it vanishes quickly.

”Hollow of my level, even when goin’ berserk, would **never** wanna bother devouring a _human_. You guys don’t have that much power to offer from yer souls, even if some folk seem ta believe so around here.”

Ichigo frowns a bit; to his understanding, hollows did become stronger by devouring human souls. Grimmjow tilts his head towards Ichigo with a snort, blue eyes examining him tiredly.

”They do. Just not as much as ya flesh bags got less spiritual essence in you when comparing ta us. Ya guys have different kinds of shit to eat, some with less nutrition to offer. Same kinda deal.”

Ichigo’s scowl deepens at that.

"Wait, so humans are basically hollow junk-food."

"Call it whatever ya want." Grimmjow mutters out with a shrug, rubbing his eyes. He probably didn't even know what junk-food meant, given his last contact with human culture was hundreds of years ago.

”Shirosaki was kind of confused on why he freaked out so badly...he said he could’ve thrown you off.”

Ichigo full on expected the man to snort and tell him his twin was thinking too highly of himself, but the blunet just turns his gaze to the ceiling, as if contemplating on something.

”...Makes sense if you think about it.”

”Huh?”

”He’s...probably only been awake in his existence for a brief time, given ya had no clue he was there, not until Kaien told me about it. He’s what we call a _newborn._ ”

A newborn?

What did that mean?

Surely not a child, at least not in the same sense as with humans. Ichigo had never seen a child hollow, up until he'd met Nelliel, and her form was purely because of the crack on her mask.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes at him.

”Newborn literally means what it means; a hollow who was just born, though yer right that it ain't the same thing as bein' a human brat; newborns can do adult shit already, like kill n' devour souls, fight, and fuck if they feel like it. It's more about a lack of _experience._ "

Ahh... That was roughly what Ichigo had thought about Shirosaki actually, now when he thought about it.

It makes sense yer hollow buddy didn’t know to stay the fuck back from me at that point.”

”How so?”

”He’s _never_ lived in Hueco Mundo, he don’t know how this place works. Just like none of the newer hollows born after we were fucked over didn’t. Like I said, lack of experience with how things work around here. If yer pale buddy had been born in Hueco Mundo, he’d likely quickly learned everythin’ he needs by bein’ exposed to the laws of nature in this world; same with those stupid fuckers that came ta me when I went on a rampage. Bein’ born after our supposed deaths, their instincts had no way to develop the required fear towards me, so they stupidly showed up thinking they could handle it.”

Ah...so that’s why there were dead hollows.

Grimmjow had _not_ necessarily sought them out, but they’d foolishly come to see what was going on.

At least Ichigo hoped Grimmjow had not purposefully hunted those ones down.

”Back then... _every_ goddamn hollow knew not to go near an Espada and challenge them if they didn’t got what it took.”

Grimmjow explains, closing his eyes again.

”So...that still doesn’t explain why Shirosaki froze at random. I don’t know exactly how powerful he is yet, but...If it was purely this inexperience thing, I think he would've realized his mistake much quicker, especially if he is indeed weaker than you...”

”Dominance.”

Ichigo blinks, then a frown crosses his features.

_”What?”_

The man sighs and shifts to face Ichigo, resting his elbow on top of the backrest, while leaning his head against his palm. Gods he looked so tired the ginger had an urge to tug the man close and let him rest his head on his lap, just so it would be more comfortable than the damn stony couch.

A slight amused smirk passed Grimmjow’s features, but he didn’t tease Ichigo about that thought for once.

”We Espada have this ability where we can literally **dominate** other hollows, bend them under our willpower. My beast self probably used a subtle form of it ta make yer twin submit as he wasn't exactly doing what that monster expected. It’s harder ta spot than what I used ta save yer friends’ asses.”

”Oh...”

Ichigo didn’t really know what else to say to that. It sounded pretty serious of a deal.

“I’ve used it on ya before. You just didn’t know it.”

The ginger looks up at the man with slight confused – and unnerved – lift eyebrow.

Grimmjow just gazes at him with a stoic look for a moment. Then, something flashes in his eyes, and Ichigo felt something weigh on his brain all of a sudden. It was different from a typical energy pulse he’d experienced emitting from the man. It was hard to describe the difference; instead of this physical need or like having some physical thing push you, it felt more like you suddenly had an urge to do something.

It felt like…it was the _same_ feeling he’d subtly felt earlier, when Grimmjow had told him to fuck off.

Ichigo felt his breathing halt for a second, before it picks up speed, and be backs away against the couch as Grimmjow leans closer, expression mostly blank, aside from a slight, unreadable frown on his face.

The pressure on Ichigo’s brain began to make his mind hazy, and this feeling reminded him of the times Grimmjow had possessed him, which meant… he’d probably used this ability to do so.

Except, there was a slight difference when comparing to those times; this time he did not feel like he was being shoved aside from his body violently, but simply his mind was coaxed to fall under someone else’s demand.

It wasn’t even _hypnosis_ per say, but more like an _instinct_ telling him that he should submit to the silent order emanating from the blunet’s aura. It was unnerving as all hell, but Ichigo had a feeling it probably didn’t work on him as well as it would to a hollow, given he  wasn’t one.

There was a slight noise from Shirosaki somewhere in his head however, a slight, uneasy whimper.

As the blunet leans even closer, Ichigo felt his breathing turn even quicker.

A hand reaches up to grasp his hair, and the ginger feels himself tilt his head to expose his neck slightly. It wasn’t something he’d typically do, but rather, something in his mind was demanding him to do so, and Ichigo couldn’t resist it.

There was another whimper echoing in his brain, and Shirosaki sounded…. _frightened?_

Grimmjow’s teeth graze his ear, and the man’s breath felt hot against his skin, sending hot chills traveling down Ichigo’s body.

_What the hell was the crazy bastard doing?_

Suddenly, the blunet backs away with a wide-eyed look, and the next second, the frown was back, and he pretty much kicks Ichigo off the couch.

“Oww, what the hell was that for!?”

_“Get out, **NOW!** ”_

Grimmjow growls at him while holding his head, and something about his tone left no room for arguments – he wasn’t even using the ability he demonstrated just now – so Ichigo gets up and scrambles out of the blunet’s chambers, wondering what the hell was going on.

Just as he steps to the throne room, Pesche nearly crashes into him.

”There is a message to you from the human realm, Ichigo-san!”

 

 

 

 

The news Rukia had, they weren’t good.

_”We don’t know why it is happening, but Urahara cannot open the portal.”_

”I could ask Grimmjow do it for you…..”

Ichigo pauses, realizing that perhaps the man would not be on the most helpful of moods right now.

_”That was our initial thought, but based on Urahara’s analysis, he might not be able to do it either; something is disrupting the, what did Urahara call it again... ’veil’ between our world and Hueco Mundo. Basically, we’re blocked off.”_

Ichigo frowns at that; it sounded highly unusual.

What could cause such a thing?

”Well... I suppose the good thing is there won’t be that many hollows dropping by.”

_”That is true, however your food supply won’t last that long, and we have no way to deliver you anything more; it was a miracle Urahara could make contact.”_

That was a big problem; Ichigo knew all too well he didn’t have much left.

So far he’d felt fine despite eating smaller amounts, but that would likely not last for that much longer.

”We’ll come up with something; I’m sure Urahara will have some sort of an idea.”

_”I do, actually.”_

The man joins in the conversation as his face appears on screen.

_”Although, it is unconventional, and I cannot promise it’ll work.”_

Ichigo sighs and just tells the man to explain his idea; given the difficult situation, nothing should be taken out of consideration.

_”Given you have hollow blood in you; it may mean you also have their ability to get nutrition from the atmosphere of Hueco Mundo. After all, hollows don’t eat food like we do.”_

Ichigo’s eyes widen in surprise, and he stares at Urahara for a moment.

“Wait how do you know…?”

_“Even if Kaien-san hadn’t told me about it, I had already known about it, since you were born.”_

The ginger opens his mouth to say something, probably to demand some answers and just how much did Urahara know about him that Ichigo had no clue over exactly, but then he just shuts up, knowing right now wasn’t the time for this.

He could grill the sandal-hat about this later.

Besides, as Ichigo considers the idea, it does sound like a viable option; however, there was an issue there.

He had _no_ clue how to do it.

_“Your hollow-self likely knows how to do it; given it is an instinctual thing for them.”_

Urahara offers helpfully.

If that was true, it would be immensely helpful, but still…

”Even if that was possible, how would that affect me otherwise? Could I...”

_”Honestly? I am not certain, Kurosaki-san, hence it is just one possibility to consider.”_

The ginger holds his chin as he considers his options; his food ration would last three days tops, and nothing a human could consume grew in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was pretty sure you couldn’t even GROW anything there. It was a world reliant on Spiritual essence for a food source.

“I suppose I don’t have any options. I can talk with Shirosaki about that.”

_“Who’s that?”_

Rukia asks confused, and Ichigo realizes the woman had no clue about this business. She’d already looked shocked just now, when Urahara had mentioned the hollow-blood thing.

“Umm, yeah, apparently I have a hollow-side in me, I don’t know why though.”

Ichigo looks at Urahara pointedly, as it was pretty obvious HE knew, given he’d been the one to propose this. The man remains as calm as ever, not reacting to his glare in any way.

_“Ichigo, that sounds dangerous! Was this caused by that…”_

_“No, Kuchiki-san. This is something he’s **always** had. Jeagerjaquez merely awakened it.”_

The raven woman just stares at Urahara, looking about ready to demand the man to tell her everything about her friend he’d been hiding now, but before she could, Ichigo coughs to gain her attention.

“It’s okay, Rukia; Shirosaki’s…not your typical hollow. He’s actually kind of…sweet.”

It sounded weird to say that, but really, after only these few days of knowing his pale twin, Ichigo had gotten a surprisingly benevolent and friendly image of the being. It…didn’t make sense given how hollows usually were, but, that’s how it was.

Rukia looked skeptical understandably. She was probably still wondering why the ginger had chosen to stay behind the first place. The ginger wished he'd had an actual answer to that question, but he didn't.

“Look, you’ll get to see it yourself once we figure this problem out, okay?”

The woman looks at him quiet for a long time, before releasing a slow sigh and nodding.

_“Stay safe; if this doesn’t work, try to contact us immediately and we’ll figure out something else."_

 

 

 

 

Shirosaki was not eager about the idea, and Ichigo learned quickly why.

_”I can do it fer ya I think, but I’d need ta take over yer body again for it.”_

”That’s fine; you did surprise me last time, but it didn’t go too badly.”

Shirosaki looks like he said something stupid, so Ichigo elaborates.

”Aside from you panicking, the overtaking itself wasn’t that bad; I didn’t really feel like I was being forced aside.”

The pale figure shakes his head and curls up more, pressing his back against the wall firmer.

_”M’gonna screw it up.”_

”Come on Shirosaki. That wasn’t on you; Grimmjow told me you likely fell under his dominance without noticing.”

_”That dun help Ichi! It’s not...it’s not that...”_

The white figure mumbles out, staring into his lap. It took Ichigo a moment to get it. The whimpers he’d heard in his head earlier, when Grimmjow had demonstrated the willpower ability…

”Oh.... **Oh**. Shit, are you... _still_ scared of him?”

The brown eyes gaze at his twin concerned, who just hides his face as if ashamed.

He _hated_ the fact how badly that incident had shaken him. He’d  known hollows ate other hollows, of course he did, it was an instinct thing, but he’d gotten the image from Ichi’s memories he’d gained – the text in Kaien Shiba’s diary – that GRIMMJOW did not feel the need to do that.

Earlier, when the blunet had showcased his skill to the ginger, Shirosaki had felt it again; a wisp of _hunger._

It had been clearly aimed at _him_ , not Ichi.

Grimmjow had apparently realized it himself as he’d backed away quickly, but what if he couldn’t do it next time?

What if Shirosaki was out and would end up…end up…

”Hey, hey...look at me.”

Ichigo squeezes his shoulder gently upon noticing his twin was starting to breathe shallowly as if panicking, and the wide golden eyes look up at him now. Grimmjow’s words returned into his mind; no wonder Shirosaki acted childishly at times.

He was indeed a newborn.

Someone with lack of experience and understanding of his apparent own world, ironically.

 

 

”I’m sure Grimmjow didn’t mean to hurt you. He was pretty upset about it too, even if he tried to hide it. I’m sure he won’t try to devour you again.”

_”Even if he didn’ mean to, what if he freaks out again n’ tries ta....”_

”Then we switch places instantly; his beast side doesn’t really have an interest in eating me for lunch, and so far I have been able to talk him out of it.”

Ichigo tells him confidently, because he truly believed that: Grimmjow had made it pretty clear even in that state he would not want to eat humans. To be fair, he wasn’t supposed to feel the need to devour hollows _either_ , but it was what it was right now.

Shirosaki still looked skeptical, so Ichigo pressed on.

”Come on; if it helps I can ask Grimmjow to leave you be during the time you have to be outside.”

_”Ichi, you dun get it; when a hollow is reeeal hungry, they can’t help themselves, no matter what ya make ‘em promise.”_

”Shirosaki.”

Ichigo squeezes his both shoulders now, looking at him straight in the eyes.

”I may have only just met you, but....you can do this.”

Perhaps it was weird to think so when they indeed had just met, when he’d only just found out about Shirosaki’s existence. But perhaps this trust was in fact the manifest of the fact Shirosaki was a part of him, no matter how the pale figure liked to claim he was an “outsider” or so.

Ichigo still didn’t know what that meant, nor did he know how to ask.

After a moment of silence, the white figure uncurls a little, taking in a deep breath.

”That’s it, it’ll be fine. You don’t have to fight, just morph his energy into something useful for my flesh bag of a body.”

Shirosaki stares at him baffled, and then actually laughs at his use of the insult Grimmjow had been throwing at him.

_”Yeah yeah, M’ gonna try.”_

Shirosaki finally pushes himself up and stretches a little, walking out of the building shadow.

He was still nervous given the stiffness of his shoulders, but at least he was willing to try it.

Ichigo watches as Shiro closes his eyes, likely going to try and take charge of their body. However, after a moment he starts trembling and sinks to his knees with a whimper curling up and rocking again. The sky above them turns even darker, and the anxiety levels in the atmosphere raise.

_”I can’t....M’sorry Ichi, **I can’t.”**_

Ichigo frowns concerned, but before he could even go to his twin, he is pushed away almost violently now, shoved back to the surface of the water.

 

Ichigo climbs out still in slight shock of the sudden forced exit, and he slumps to his back, just staring at the ceiling for a long moment. Eventually, a presence appeared beside him, and Ichigo looks up at Grimmjow, who’d walked there to see what he was doing.

Right now he seemed calm and all, but Ichigo could now sense lightly what had Shirosaki so scared; there was a tiny bit of that hollow-typical thirst emanating from him.

Ichigo swallows down nervously as he pushes himself up.

No wonder Shirosaki didn’t want to come out right now.

 

 

 

 

The next few days or so - it was hard to tell given Hueco Mundo was just one endless night - Ichigo spent struggling with trying to keep the connection to his world alive enough to plan on other ways of doing this.

It was pretty clear the conversation was going nowhere as everything they could propose would have required somebody to come there or bring something, which could not be done at the moment.

Grimmjow also couldn’t stop but notice how Kurosaki was growing _weaker._

He ate very little to ration out what he had, and it clearly wasn’t enough.

His steps were a little shaky, and he kept rubbing his belly as it made sounds. He could not go back to talk to his other self now, as each time he tried, even though the pool, Shirosaki would throw him out without a word.

The blunet _knew_ why the pale bastard was reluctant to come out.

He KNEW he was oozing out a threatening aura involuntarily, even Nel and his buddies had noticed, as they had begun to avoid him.

It _had_ to be bad when even that annoying toddler version of _Oderschvank_ was too scared to come near him.

Grimmjow absolutely hated it, but there wasn’t much he could do; his pride as a King would not let him go out there to satisfy the need.

He was a reckless, shitty asshole, the man was never gonna deny that, but even HE understood what him going for munchies could mean.

Basically, it was a **bad idea.**

However, not doing anything was literal torture, especially when there was a soul in the palace that smelt extra fucking _delicious._

He had no clue why Kurosaki’s hollow side was so tempting to him; he figured it was a combination of Shirosaki – that’s what the ginger called ‘im, right? – being a newborn of sorts, having a lots of essence in him, and the fact he was _part_ of Kurosaki, which for some reason mattered a lot more than it should have.

This had NOTHING to do with Kaien.

Grimmjow was _hundred percent_ certain that even if he’d gone through this ridiculous torture back then, he’d never felt like trying to eat his friend, not even if his hollow had **not** been a con-job, where he'd just borrowed Grimmjow’s own power.

Right now…he kind of wished he could go back in time, though not because of some sentimental bullshit.

He just wanted to _get away_ from that damn scent that was messing with his head.

Glancing aside, Grimmjow could sense Kurosaki had gone to sleep in his usual spot again.

Grimmjow didn’t dare to stay in the same room with him anymore if the ginger was unconscious.

It was starting to be a bit too much.

Suddenly, the scent became a lot stronger, so much so that he almost stumbled to the floor in surprise, but managed to keep himself standing.

_What the hell was that moron thinking?_

 

 

 

Shirosaki looked around nervously; he’d tried to be as discreet as possible, as to not wake Ichi up or have the shift in their aura be noticed.

He hadn’t wanted to do this, feeling safer hiding within the ginger, but Shirosaki _knew_ he had to stop being a coward; Ichi’s state was getting really bad, and he KNEW he could help.

The pale figure sucks in a deep breath and closes his eyes, starting to suck energy out of their surroundings.

It was a complex process, especially when he had to adjust the energy it provided so it could provide Ichigo’s flesh-and-blood body and cells the fuel they needed instead of just slipping directly to power his soul and spiritual pressure.

He really had to focus on this process. Shirosaki sank into his trance so deeply, that he did not notice a presence appearing in the room.

Grimmjow watched quietly as the chalk-white version of Kurosaki sat there, hands resting against his crossed legs, glowing gently as he processed energy for Ichigo’s body to use. His animalistic side was complaining as he refused to go closer. The blunet managed to ignore it for now.

He couldn’t stop but wonder; so this was the thing Kurosaki was supposed to defeat to gain access to his powers?

Something about that _didn’t_ sound right.

Initially, Grimmjow had sort of seen how it would work, but now that he could properly examine Shirosaki, it did not make a **lick** of sense.

Why would you need to defeat something that seemed to be cooperative and helpful already?

When he’d initially kicked Kurosaki to the pool, he’d fully expected the ginger shithead to meet something monstrous. While Shirosaki had a form like that, he was _anything_ but.

For one, he looked very human, aside from being pale as a sheet and having black and gold eyes. The way he apparently acted was a little unusual as well. A newborn hollow would be curious yes, and easily excited, but Shirosaki lacked the usual HOSTILITY and bloodlust.

He did have some of it, Grimmjow had witnessed a tiny, tiny fragment during their battle earlier, but even then it had been restrained heavily.

The more he thought of it, the more it seemed like it _wasn’t_ Shirosaki who was restraining Ichigo’s powers, but rather HE was the one being restrained.

As Shirosaki tilts his head back slightly, parting his lips with a sigh, his eyes creasing a little as he frowned. The aura around him began to flicker a bit unsteadily, as if he was suddenly finding it hard to focus.

Grimmjow knew why.

He was standing too close, and even if the chalk-face was in a trance, he could subconsciously feel the slight threat looming near him.

The blunet shifts away from the wall, turning his back and slowly exiting the room, though not before he let a bit of that unstable, flickering spiritual essence slip on his tongue almost involuntarily.

It tasted about as good as he’d expected.

This was _not_ gonna end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So  
> I had to re-write this chapter as I didn't like the direction it originally took. I felt the pacing was starting to become too fast and all.  
> Also, I feel like I should mention this; Shiro is less aggressive at the moment in this story on purpose, not only because I ended up writing him that way. There is a story reason behind it.  
> Grimmjow sort of hinted as to why.  
> Also, Shirosaki should probs switch the cologne he's using, he smells too tasty //pied//
> 
> Also  
> Hollow Junk food  
> I have NO idea why writing that made me laugh so hard. I'm sorry my sense of humor can be so shitty at times.


	23. The King, the newborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grimmjow's hunger becomes overpowering.  
> Shirosaki attempts to get Grimmjow to cooperate as urahara has a plan.
> 
> Shirosaki heavy chapter

Ichigo felt strangely refreshed when he woke up.

Examining himself, the ginger noted his skin had gained some color back too.

”Shirosaki, did you...do something while I was asleep?”

There was no response, but Ichigo smiled nevertheless. Grimmjow was not around again, so he gets up and heads for the throne room. Nel and her companions were there and the girl waves at him once Ichigo enters.

”I’m guessing you wouldn't know where Grimmjow is exactly?”

The group look at each other then shake their heads apologetically.

”Nel is worried, Itsygo; Nel saw Gwimmjow while Itsygo slept.”

Ichigo turns his attention to the green haired girl with a surprised lift eyebrow. Her eyes were wide with worry, and a little bit of... _fear?_

”Nel could feel it. Nel never saw Gwimmjow like that.”

”Like what?”

The girl gulps down nervously, and walks closer, tugging on his sleeve to get Ichigo to crouch down on her level now.

”Gwimmjow is _hungry._ ”

It might have sounded innocent enough, but based on Grimmjow’s description from earlier, it was not a good sign.

The ginger frowns, wondering just _how_ bad it had to be if  Nel was worried too.

”This cannot be! This is _not_ good!”

Pesche repeats that over and over, while Dondochakka just sort of wails, stating that he didn’t wanna die. Ichigo watches the bizarre show for a moment, until the two accidentally bump into each other and fall to the floor, rubbing their heads.

”Say....why is this such a bad thing exactly? Grimmjow told me about his kind not needing to feed on other hollows, but what harm will it do if he does?”

Ichigo did not mean that he’d want Grimmjow to go out for a snack, he just wanted to get the full picture.

The two turn to look at Ichigo like he’d gone mad.

Then, they seem to remember he wasn’t a hollow.

”An Espada is not supposed to feel the hunger! Even _one_ Espada could easily devour hundreds of souls at once if they’d ever develop this thirst, and it can really disrupt the balance of our world. If what Nel is saying is true... something is badly wrong!”

Pesche exclaims. Ichigo’s eyes widen; that sounded really bad.

”Where is he?”

”I think, he might’ve gone to Ulquiorra’s chambers. I can sense most of his aura coming from there.”

Pesche comments after a moment, sounding a little puzzled.

Why would Grimmjow be there?

The answer did not matter, as Ichigo sprints there, unsure on what he was going to do exactly.

He just...maybe he could do SOMETHING, as he was the only person that the blunet probably wouldn’t want to eat, given he was a human. ....

Except, he apparently had developed an appetite for _Shirosaki_ , who was essentially a part of him.

Ichigo shakes his head; if Grimmjow really wanted to go and devour any of them, he would have done it already. The man had to be fighting against the urge; that was why he’d been keeping his distance recently. While it was a positive sign, Ichigo knew it would not work forever.

Cautiously, Ichigo steps into the dim corridor, following his sixth sense to locate the man.

After a while of searching the narrow and tall hallways and rooms, the ginger finds what he was looking for from the pool room he’d used to access his mental scape. Given Grimmjow’s hair ends were damp and he wasn’t wearing his shirt or jacket, it indicated he’d gone in there for a bit for some reason.

Now, he was just sitting on the edge, staring at the dark waters quietly. Ichigo inches closer, up until Grimmjow could see his reflection from the liquid surface.

His eyes were very dark, having lost the usual sky blue glow to them.

He looked kind of...sick.

”Ya look better.”

Grimmjow mutters out, his voice much quieter than usual.

”Yeah, woke up feeling kind of refreshed. I’m guessing Shirosaki decided to give it a try after all.”

”He did, fuckin’ dumbass shows up n’ sits around in a vulnerable state, I swear; he’s every bit as reckless as rest of ya lot.”

It was pretty clear the man was referring to both Ichigo and Kaien right now.

He also couldn’t stop but note the strained tone in Grimmjow’s tone, as if he was struggling to speak. After a moment of tense silence, the man rubs his eyes, a slight, frustrated groan escaping from between his lips. He sounded like he’d been holding in some serious ache for hours.

”Grimmjow?”

The blunet slumps to his back now, still covering his eyes. He looked very pale, in fact his skin began to remind what Shirosaki had, rather than his usual tan color. Ichigo looks down at the man concern all over his face as Grimmjow doesn’t respond, and instead just slumps his hands away from his face, letting his arms rest on the ground as well.

The dimmed blue eyes were staring in the ceiling now.

”T’s kinda amusing, in a sick way; ’cause we don’t hafta feed from other hollows ta keep up our power, once ya develop the thirst, it feels more like a fuckin’ _addiction_ than hunger....”

The ginger crouches down beside him, wanting to ask if he could do anything to help; that sounded **really** bad.

As he does that however, Grimmjow makes a face and turns his back to Ichigo, curling up lightly.

” **Don’t** come near me right now. T’s a dumb fuckin’ idea.”

”Why?”

**_”You fuckin’ know why!”_ **

Grimmjow suddenly spats out, his voice closer to an animalistic growl, and it was laced with that dominant willpower he’d demonstrated earlier.

It makes Ichigo fall on his butt, but the ginger doesn’t back away.

”I’m not scared of you Grimmjow; you said yourself, no matter how hungry you get, you’d never bother devouring a human.”

Ichigo states firmly, even if a part of him might’ve thought otherwise.

The blunet lets out a near manic laugh, as he pushes himself up with one arm, turning to glare at Ichigo again. His eyes were very sharp and dark, and there was a golden edge to them, like what hollows usually would have. What caused a shiver run down his spine however, was the aura that surrounded Grimmjow. He’d felt similar things before; hollows scouting out human realm for a meal.

This one was much, _much_ more terrifying however, to the point Ichigo could feel his spiritual aura itself falter.

There was a sound somewhere in his mind that Ichigo knew had to be Shirosaki.

He was urging Ichigo to get out of the room, _now._

”Maybe ya should be.”

Grimmjow tells him with a low, warning growl, before closing his eyes and slumping back to the ground, holding his head with a groan.

It was kind of bizarre, as this did not really remind Ichigo of how someone who was hungry would act. Rather, it made him think of...somebody who was having withdrawal symptoms.

.....No wonder Grimmjow described it as more of an addiction.

His breathing was harsh, and Ichigo could see Grimmjow’s fingers sink so deep into his scalp he was in danger of ripping some of his hair out. The ginger just stared at him, not knowing what to do. He wanted to help Grimmjow, but did not know how to fix something like this. It had to be fixed though, if what Pesche had said was anything to go by.

”Is there anything I...”

_”Get the Fuck out, Kurosaki!”_

Grimmjow snarls at him, his voice closer to a warning than a demand.

He didn’t even bother to try his willpower against Ichigo again, as it apparently didn’t fucking work to the ginger moron as much as it really should right now.

He was so hungry...and Kurosaki had no fuckin’ clue how _good_ he smelt to his animalistic side.

It didn’t even matter at this point _which_ one's scent it was.

The blunet wasn’t even sure if there truly was a difference.

Ichigo gets up finally and backs away, noting that the man was starting to morph again, the aura around him taking on the shape of his beastly form.

A loud growl echoes in the chamber, causing chills travel down Ichigo’s spine as he felt the raw, animalistic energy fill the room. No, he could not let Grimmjow go crazy like that again, not when he was thirsty for souls.

If he’d been able to go further with Hachi’s lessons, perhaps he could’ve come up with a way to seal Grimmjow until he calmed down.

Then, an idea popped in his head. Grimmjow had come here for a reason. Just as the transformation finishes, Ichigo fights against the pressure wave from Grimmjow’s growl, and manages to shove him in the water with a loud splash.

For a brief moment, the liquid starts glowing intensely blue and it bubbles and boils like a surface of an ocean during a storm.

Then, everything settles down.

For a moment, Ichigo just stares at the calm surface, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. This had to be why he’d been here; the water helped sedate one’s mind, so they could enter their inner world.

Unfortunately, his idea ends up not working for long enough, as an intense burst of energy throws him back.

Grimmjow’s burning aura pretty much evaporates all the liquid, and the feline beast jumps at him, only this time Ichigo avoids from being pinned by rolling to the side and quickly jumping to his feet.

The blunet yanks his claws off from the wall, crouched on his fours as he stares at Ichigo with blank white eyes again. What made this much freakier looking was the slight bits of drool dripping down from his mouth, and Ichigo could’ve sworn his canines were sharper now.

The ginger’s eyes widen, and he reaches for the blade on his belt that no longer was there, as Grimmjow had shattered it the previous time he’d gone trough this state. So, as the man charges at him again, Ichigo leaps out of the way, scrambling up towards the stairs that led out of the room. He had to run for now.

It was frustrating, but _without_ his blade, or any sort of control over his spiritual pressure that he STILL did not have, the ginger wasn’t left with much other options.

 

_Lemme take over, Ichi_

 

 

”No! He’s likely after your essence Shirosaki; he’ll just devour you if I let you out.”

 

_But maybe he’d stop chasin’ ya afterwards._

 

 

Ichigo had to skid to a halt briefly, as he mentally yelled at his twin.

”That’s fucking suicide! I’m not letting you do this!”

 

_Why not? I’m an outsider, remember?_

 

”I don’t even know what the hell that means Shirosaki!”

Ichigo near screams frustrated, then feels as something heavy lands on his back, making him tumble to the floor. Shit. He’d stopped to hell at Shirosaki out of frustration, and in the meantime Grimmjow had caught them.

Stupid, _stupid,_ **_stupid!_**

Grimmjow snarls at him, and Ichigo brings his arms up to cover himself.

He yelps as sharp fangs sink into his arm, and blood trails down his limbs. Ichigo attempts to push him off, but that only resulted in those sharp fangs biting deeper into his flesh, to the point his vision flashed white from the pain.

”S-shit...”

The ginger manages to move his leg and kick the beast in the gut, making him spit Ichigo’s arm out with a pained groan, and ginger kicks him again to shove the man off him.

He scrambles up, eyes wild, trying to come up with something. Ichigo watched unnervedm as the beastly Grimmjow licks the blood off his fangs; he could tell that the hunger-possessed hollow found his blood tasty, the growing need was a clear sign of that. The blunet was clearly preparing for another attack, when he suddenly whips his head aside and closes his eyes briefly, as if sniffing the air.

Shit, Ichigo realized they’d gone too close to the throne room.

He must’ve been smelling Nel and the others.

The ginger knew he had to do something before Grimmjow would go after those three.

 

_Move aside Ichi_

 

”I won’t let you...”

Ichigo feels his mind be pushed aside. It was more forceful than before, but still didn’t cause any pain. He tried to switch back, but somehow Shirosaki was blocking him from doing it, and all he could do was watch in horror, as his pale twin calls out to the hungry beast.

”Hey, Grimm! Leave ’em be, m’ the one yer droolin’ over!”

The empty eyes snap back at him instantly, and Shirosaki gulps down visibly as he feels the immense wave of thirst hit him.

It seemed like the _second_ he’d appeared, everything else disappeared from Grimmjow’s mind, everything except his scent.

As the animalistic hollow starts to stalk towards him, Shirosaki sprints, trying to lead crazed Grimmjow as far away from their companions as possible.

He could hear a growl from behind him, and Shirosaki speeds up, his speed surprising even Ichigo.

He was incredibly quick, and while the ginger _was_ known for his fast reflexes in battle, seeing Shirosaki sprint like a fucking _cheetah_ made him think just how much of his potential abilities were being sealed.

It didn’t last for long however, as once Shirosaki reaches the next staircase downwards, he trips and falls to the ground below, hurting his head.

The pale figure groans and turns on his back, only to realize that Grimmjow was now towering over him, blocking the light that came in to this darkened area from behind him. Shirosaki scoots back, his heartbeat thundering in his chest. Each thump made his head ache as well, and his vision was blurred with random lights. Grimmjow’s tail shoots out from behind him, wrapping around Shirosaki’s throat, and it was actually strong enough to lift him off the ground enough to throw him against the wall at the other end of the room.

The pale figure coughs, a nasty bruise around his neck on the spot the vine like tail had wrapped itself around of, and the next second Grimmjow was on him, clawed hand grabbing the white locks to tug his head back painfully, exposing his throat.

The noise Shirosaki made was a mixture of a terrified whimper and an embarrassingly aroused groan.

He didn’t know why, but he _really_ liked it when the blunet tugged on his hair, a detail that was weird to find out in a situation like this.

 

_Shirosaki, you gotta let me out!_

 

”No, Ichi...I can’t! Can’t let ’im hurt you..”

the pale figure protests, his breathing shallow and quick, as he feels the sharp teeth graze his throat.

He could already sense bits of his essence being sucked out from his body, slowly growing dizzy.

 

_You don’t know if he’ll stop even if he devours you!_

 

 

”Those as strong as Grimm...they go only fer hollows, right? No human-junk-food.”

Shirosaki manages to laugh at his shitty joke, then flinches with a whimper as the sharp teeth sank against his throat, spilling out blood.

 

_Shirosaki!_

 

The pale figure closes his eyes with a pained smile on his face. He’d only gotten to know Ichi for a short time, but at least an outsider like him could be of use during this short period.

He didn’t mind disappearing, that would probably just release whatever seal he’d unwillingly put on Ichigo’s power.

 

Suddenly, the blunet let’s go of his neck with a gasp, and the hands clutching his arms release him, slanting against the wall behind him so hard the ivory surface cracked upon the impact.

Shirosaki’s eyes snap wide open, and he watches in shock as Grimmjow slowly forces himself back to normal, panting harshly as it took a considerable effort.

His nails rake down the ivory surface, leaving deep scratches on it, the sound sending shivers down Shirosaki’s spine.

The hot breath brushing over his shoulder caused all kinds of signals shoot into Shirosaki’s brain, and he just stood there frozen, not knowing what to do.

The blunet groans lightly, and he forces himself back enough to glare at the pale figure trapped between the wall and himself.

There was still clear hunger in his eyes, but Grimmjow was holding it back remarkably well.

”...What...the fuck... are you doing...you fuckin’ _moron!_ ”

”Ya almost went after Nel n’ the two weirdos!”

The blunet sucks in a harsh breath, then seems to regret it as he lets out another, borderline needy growl, pressing his nose against Shirosaki’s neck for a moment, licking the blood there, making the pale figure shudder.

He REALLY had to smell good - or Grimmjow was really hungry - when the man was having hard time resisting even when he was back under control mostly.

”You...fuckin’....ya tryin’ ta kill Kurosaki?”

He finally manages to huff out, lifting his head again and glaring down at the white figure.

”No! I was tryna save Ichi from bein’ eaten!”

”You dumbass! He’d be _dead_ too if I devoured you!”

Grimmjow snarls at Shirosaki, then he has to back away as the beastly side was trying to claw its way back in control again.

It really wanted to consume the mouth-watering soul before it, and didn’t seem to care it was attached to something more lowly like a human.

A human whose scent wasn’t too bad either.

”No he would not! I ain’t...”

A willpower laced hiss from the blunet silenced him, and Grimmjow leans against the nearest pillar, holding his head as he tried to resist the urge. How the hell could the lower level hollows even _do_ anything if their hunger was this overpowering?

Or maybe it was that to him, because he usually didn’t feel it.

”I don’t...know why...ya think that bullshit; _outsider_ , my ass. Yer CLEARLY a part of Kurosaki’s soul, there’s no fuckin’ way you’d care for him as much as ya do if you weren’t.”

Shirosaki pauses at those words, as he realizes there was truth behind them.

He’d only just recently woken up to his existence, but felt like he’d always _known_ Ichigo.

From the moment they met, Shirosaki had loved him - not like that - but he had. That's why he'd been willing to go as far as to let himself perish if that meant saving Ichigo.

Only a fragment of one’s soul would be able to such unconditional devotion.

Shirosaki looks at his hands, confusion filling his mind.

”But...I’m a hollow. He’s a human.”

_”So?”_

Grimmjow spats out, his breathing having evened out now. The golden eyes look up at him, his expression wide and puzzled.

”Kurosaki...has hollow blood in ’im... _hollow_   _blood_ makin' up part of his own, I can literally taste it y' know?" Grimmjow pauses, licking the bits of red still stuck on his sharp canines, and it looked pretty fucking terrifying, especially when he was giving that look to Shirosaki still.

".....Which means...it’s been there from the start, since he was born. It ain’t some stray fragment from me or some other piece of shit hollow that injected it into ’im.....”

Grimmjow explains, still breathing deeply, leaning his head back against the pillar.

”I....”

Before Shirosaki could even begin that sentence, Grimmjow slumps to the ground, clutching his head as his mind began to slip again.

”Get..you BOTH get out of here Shirosaki, **NOW!** ”

The white haired figure only manages to take a step away from the wall, when a pulse of energy leaves Grimmjow’s body, his mind overtaken by his immense thirst again.

However, before the hunger-possessed beast could attack him, a glowing barrier appears around him, and something akin to lightning leaves its surface, striking the blunet. He collapses to the ground inside the spiritual prison, clearly unconscious now. Shirosaki looks up with widened eyes, seeing a familiar figure standing atop the stairs.

_Urahara._

”Greetings. You must be Ichigo’s hollow-side. My name is Urahara Kisuke, although I believe you may know of this already.”

The man greets him calmly, tipping his hat. Shirosaki just stares up at him, then leans back against the wall, closing his eyes with a sigh and letting Ichigo take over.

”What did you do to him?”

Ichigo asks concerned as he examines the barrier Grimmjow was trapped in. He’d returned back to normal shape but was still unconscious.

”And I thought your first question would be how I got here.” Urahara chuckles amused, making Ichigo turn his gaze aside a little embarrassed now.

Yeah, that _probably_ should have been the most obvious question.

”The barrier will keep him sealed so he won’t be harming anybody. As for that zap, it simply put him to sleep for now.”

”I...He didn’t mean to attack me.”

Ichigo had to say it.

”I am aware; based on what I’ve learned from Kaien’s writings and my studies - as well as talking to those three peculiar characters above - this hunger is not typical to someone like him.”

Ichigo glances up at the trio looking down at them from the doorway upstairs. Nel looked concerned as usual, her big bright eyes wide.

”So uh... how DID you get in here?”

Urahara hums, closing his fan as he turns to look at Ichigo, leaning against his cane.

”I was studying the canvas between our worlds, trying to figure out what was causing us to be unable to open a portal, when I found a hole in it. I gathered my materials and supplies to study it more closely, but then I...." He pauses for a moment, leaving an awkward silence hanging between them. 

"Unfortunately, it closed rather quickly after me.”

Ichigo pauses for a moment, then suddenly notices that the man looked a little...embarrassed?

Kisuke Urahara was _embarrassed?_

”...You didn’t...just go and _fall_ trough the portal with all of your stuff and it closed after you, did you?”

Urahara coughs, hiding his face further behind the fan.

Ichigo wasn’t sure if he should laugh or facepalm.

For a man as intelligent as Urahara was, he could be so... _ridiculously_ clumsy at times, and that didn’t even begin to cover it.

”But. Now that I was able to observe the situation from this side, I was able to deduce what may have caused this issue.”

”What is it then?”

Urahara glances at the trapped hollow.

”I believe this complex topic would be best discussed somewhere more comfortable.”

”I don’t want to leave him there.”

Ichigo states instantly, gaining an amused lift eyebrow from the sand blond haired man.

”My, haven’t you grown fond of him in just few days.”

Ichigo said nothing to that, he had nothing to say really.

”I can teleport him to somewhere else if you want me to.”

”Could you...place him to his room at least? I can show you where it is...”

Ichigo glances at the sleeping male, really wanting to bring him somewhere more comfortable than this dark, relatively small room when comparing to the rest of the palace.

”Of course.”

 

 

Ichigo insisted upon placing the unconscious Espada to his mattress as it was the most comfortable thing in there, and Urahara agrees, clearly still amused by the ginger’s fondness for the man.

Urahara wasn’t too surprised though; Kaien had described his late friend as charming in his own way, and Ichigo was highly empathetic, so the blunet’s current state likely racked up some sympathy points too. Plus, the man could sense there was some sort of resonance between them, a level of understanding or similarity, he wasn't entirely sure which.

”Now that we are able to discuss again, may I inquire what made you choose to stay here?”

Ichigo was fairly certain Urahara knew the answer, but he humored the man anyway.

”I...Grimmjow learned from Kaien about the hollow in me, before he...perished.”

He begins, looking aside for a moment as he bit his bottom lip thoughtfully.

”He’d asked him to... help me to learn how to control that, as it could help with my power problems. Grimmjow figured it would be safer if I began my training here already, as if I go crazy, I won’t hurt anybody.”

”...It doesn’t seem to be an issue however.”

Ichigo sighs with a slight nod.

”Shirosaki...he’d nothing what we expected. I don’t know why.”

Urahara hums, examining him curiously from behind his fan.

”That is _not_ the true reason, is it though, Kurosaki-san?”

The ginger keeps chewing his lip, slowly realizing just how...stupid his reasoning sounded. Not only what he just said was kind of weak honestly, but even his true reason felt a little...well... not thought through.

”I was worried.”

He admits quietly, and Urahara makes a questioning noise.

”He was already volatile before; the shit he’s gone trough is pretty bad, and then...what happened with Kaien.” I

chigo takes in a deep breath and looks at Urahara with a worried scowl on his face.

”This whole time I’ve known him, he _hasn’t_ exactly acted like the warrior I was described in the diary. Even that one memory he showed me of destroying a Menos, that fire I saw in that memory...it’s not there.”

”....And you feel strong need to somehow help the situation?”

”I know it sounds stupid. I’m not....I just happened to be related to Kaien Shiba.”

Ichigo huffs now a little frustrated, brushing trough his ginger hair.

”I doubt your connection has anything to do with this; you’ve always been a highly sympathetic person, Kurosaki-san. You don't just pull people out of trouble and leave it there, you want to make sure they are okay afterwards.” Urahara tells him gently; he’d seen the boy grow up and knew this very well.

Even as a child, Ichigo was often that kid who wanted to cheer up others that weren’t feeling well.

Despite being a crybaby, he was also brave and empathetic, willing to even comfort people who initially were mean to him.

After his mother perished, the boy had become more serious, but that empathy was still there.

”I...guess so.”

The ginger sighs, rubbing his head.

 

 

 

 

 

When the blunet began to stirr, his head was hurting like _hell._

Last thing he recalled was spatting at Shirosaki, then... something had attacked him.

He hadn’t even noticed it was there, which was a testament to just how badly the pale bastard clouded his senses with his goddamn scent.

”Grimmjow.”

He pushes himself off the mattress and looks towards the voice, rubbing his head. Kurosaki was crouched in front of what seemed to be a glowing barrier. A spiritual one, and he was pretty damn sure the ginger hadn’t put it up.

”Urahara, he found a way in here. To be exact, he literally tripped over and fell trough a portal.”

Ichigo explains quietly, examining the blunet with a concerned frown arching his brows.

The blunet just sighs and flops on his back again, rubbing his eyes; what Kurosaki described sounded pretty damn amusing, but he didn't have the energy or the mood to find it funny.

He felt a bit more clear-headed right now, probably because the spiritual barrier was actually blocking the smell of, well, everything, from him.

Kurosaki sat right there, but his brain wasn’t going into beast mode thankfully, because he couldn’t smell his soul anymore.

”Are you...”

”Do I fuckin’ _look_ okay Kurosaki?”

Grimmjow grunts out, not looking at him.

Fuck, he just wanted to get some rest; going into that mode was bloody exhausting.

The ginger says nothing to that, just examines the blunet quietly. He was no longer oozing out the starved aura, but that was likely because his sense of smell was being blocked. According to Urahara that could help for now, but not for long term, as hollows did not get attracted to prey based on the scent alone.

Grimmjow still looked paler than usual, and his expression was exhausted.

”...I’m sorry, I don’t know what Shirosaki was thinking.”

”Me neither; I dunno what that ’outsider’ bullshit is all about, but I can tell ya two are connected. He ain’t some other presence within yer body.”

Grimmjow mutters out, rubbing his temple slightly.

 **Fucking hell**  his head hurt.

”He’d...apologize as well, but he’s too afraid to come out.”

Grimmjow snorts, then turns his back to Ichigo.

”Yeah, he might not wanna show his face fer a bit.”

Silence landed between them, and Ichigo just gazed at the man’s bare back, the nasty scarring from his battle all those years ago visible for him to see. It was another reminder of why they were in this situation right now; the person who’d made those scars was responsible for the death of that one thing that used to prevent Grimmjow from succumbing to hollow-hunger.

”.....I could ask Inoue to heal those.”

He did not know why he’d opened his mouth to say that, but it was too late to take it back.

Grimmjow says nothing, and for a moment, Ichigo thinks he’d fallen asleep. He had looked really exhausted after all.

”Don’t need that shit.” The man grunts out, sounding like the offer had annoyed him.

”It was just a suggestion.” Ichigo sighs, combing trough his hair a bit.

It was really hard to talk with Grimmjow at times, because of his tendency to be easily triggered into annoyance or muteness.

He did not care about sharing basic knowledge on his kindred in general, but when it came to stuff more specifically about him, about _his_ ’pain points’ as one could say, he’d easily tug on his cold crack like this. That’s what he’d been doing this whole time, bottling things in, and Ichigo was positive his recent lapses into this hunger madness were caused because of that. His mind didn't know how to deal with the emotional pressure, so it wanted to revert into a state where feelings didn't matter. That, and the other thing Urahara had explained after his analysis.

”So. Does yer Shinigami buddy have a clue as to why the fuck he managed to get here?”

Grimmjow suddenly asks, keeping his back turned to Kurosaki.

The ginger remains quiet for a long time, long enough for the blunet to deduce it had something to do with him. Come to think of it, that was probably why the ginger was sitting beside the barrier right now, his aura unusually nervous.

”......Urahara believes that your sudden emergence here, with how unbalanced your power is at the moment because a part of your soul is... _missing,_ it has an effect on Hueco Mundo’s atmosphere. Having something highly powerful and volatile be suddenly dropped in such a reactive atmosphere, it could cause some problems. That’s how he described it.”

The blunet turns on his back, and then pushes himself up to a sitting position slowly, turning his glare at Ichigo.

”It ain’t MY fault that a piece is missing! I didn’t ASK that damn _cat_ to...”

He closes his mouth abruptly and turns his gaze away.

”I know. Believe me, I saw it all.”

Ichigo replies quietly, his tone soft and coated with sympathetic sadness.

Which of course, served to piss Grimmjow off more.

”Unless you actually have somethin’ more meaningful to say, ya can fuck right off and let me sleep.”

The ginger frowns a bit, not liking how the man was starting to push him away once again, when he probably really needed to do the opposite, but Ichigo knew one could not force a person to open up or admit if they needed support.

”....I just wanted to make sure you’re at least... _stable_ right now.”

”Well I’m just peachy, so why don’t ya bring yer sorry ass elsewhere and let me sleep.”

Grimmjow grunts, not looking at the ginger as he waves his hand dismissively.

”Urahara said he might have a solution.”

The blunet doesn’t respond or react, clearly not wanting to talk right now. Ichigo sighs not really happy the man was being uncooperative again.

”We’ll need your help with it.”

”What part of **’fuck off’** ya didn’t get? I don’t wanna deal with you right...”

The blunet freezes, as a familiar scent suddenly fills the air.

He shoots up and backs away, up until his back hit the opposite wall of the barrier trap he was in. Kurosaki had pushed his arm trough the barrier, thus bringing his scent in there.

”So it only blocks things from getting out huh?”

The ginger mutters as he pulls his hand back, and the scent vanishes as he does.

_**”Are ya fucking crazy?!”** _

Grimmjow hisses at him, trying his hardest not to lung at the ginger bastard.

Even that tiny wisp of Kurosaki’s smell was _really_ fucking up his brain.

”Got your attention.”

Kurosaki actually smirks at him, but there was clear edges to it. He was by no means stupid; doing that was reckless.

”I swear, next time I won’t even bother; I’ll just bite yer arm off since yer so eager on losin’ yer life.”

Grimmjow grunts and his posture slumps as the man relaxes slowly.

”Sorry, but I need you to listen right now, that cold shoulder is not gonna help us fix the situation.”

”Why should I?”

Ichigo blinks confused, and Grimmjow sneers at him with a deep, angry frown on his face.

”Ya want this shit fixed so you and the sandal-hat who just popped here outta nowhere won’t die. Why should _I_ care if you die or not?”

Those words hit Ichigo harder than he’d thought they would.

Sure, logically speaking it was a good question, and even if Ichigo _knew_ it was rhetoric, and even if Grimmjow _didn’t_ actually mean he’d want Ichigo to die - there were quite a few incidents that suggested otherwise - it stung.

Ichigo bit his lip to not show it in his face however.

”If you do lose all control, won’t that mean this world will be thrown into chaos? Not to mention, it’d probably bleed into the human realm. Something your kindred were supposed to prevent.”

A flash of anger hit Grimmjow upon hearing that near patronizing tone. Perhaps he was more trigger happy than usual, but that REALLY pissed him off.

He _never_ liked it when somebody began to act like they were somehow better than him, especially if they hadn’t proven it to him yet.

Kurosaki was tough, he gave the ginger that, but he had not proven anything to justify that voice he was using right now.

The blunet gets up and stalks back towards Kurosaki, who backs away a little, able to sense the sour mood even trough the barrier.

Grimmjow crouches down beside the barrier, right in front of Kurosaki, and _strikes_ it hard all of a sudden with the claws he’d morphed into his hand, startling the ginger.

They actually **sink in** a few inches, making the entire thing crackle and throw sparks around as it shook.

Ichigo’s brown eyes widen in slight unease as he sees the barrier Urahara put up struggle.

”Yeah. Need I remind you... _KID_. Whose fault it is that we’re here now, in this situation?”

Grimmjow’s tone was dripping with venom now, and his claws sank even deeper. The barrier was fighting back, sending painful looking sparks course trough his body, but Grimmjow’s mind was so filled with irrational rage right now that he didn’t even register the pain.

”Ya don’t have the fuckin’ RIGHT as a Shinigami, to patronize ME for _not caring_ about yer sorry little world, when one of YOU destroyed mine.”

His voice was near animalistic growl now, and Ichigo noted his hair was dancing wildly, as if his body wanted to morph but Grimmjow forced it to stay in human form.

”Why are you so angry all of a sudden? All I said was we need your help to fix the situation.”

Ichigo asks with a frown as he backs away a bit just in case. He had faith in Urahara’s abilities, but the barrier was shaking pretty worryingly.

”And a good way of gettin’ me to do it is to fuckin’ _guilt-trip_ me into doing what ya want, huh?!”

 

Grimmjow was aware that what he said might not have made sense, but it felt like something had broken in him, and he couldn't stop those words from escpaing his mouth. 

Ichigo blinks, then a scowl appears on his face, as he straightens himself, responding to the vicious glare with equal fervor.

”I am _not_ trying to guilt-trip you! I was just stating facts. You _yourself_ asked why you should care!”

As Grimmjow strikes the barrier again with a snarl, it starts to chip away a bit, and Ichigo felt a slight bit of unease twist his gut.

Why was he doing this right now?

He’d been pretty good at not triggering Grimmjow’s temper before, but apparently he’d taken the wrong step somewhere in this situation.

Perhaps the blunet was more trigger happy due to his situation.

”Then ya CLEARLY have _no fuckin’ clue_ what the actual answer is.”

What?

The blue eyes burned on him intensely now, and Ichigo felt once again like a prey being measured by a predator.

Except, this predator was very keen on devouring him, and only couldn’t do so because of a physical divider between them. Grimmjow rakes his claws down the glowy surface, actually leaving deep slashes on it that barely manage to close after him, and Ichigo began to worry the sparks hitting Grimmjow’s body would leave permanent damage if he didn’t stop.

”Ya _think_ a King has much care for a kingdom that’s already fuckin’ _dead?_ Ya think I give a _rat’s ass_ about what happens to your traitorous fuckin’ species? All of it can go **burn in hell** for all I care!”

_Where was this coming from all of a sudden?_

All of Grimmjow’s anger over the tragedy from the past... it had been aimed mainly at the perpetrator so far, as each time he’d belittled Ichigo for being a shinigami, or them in general, it had seemed to be out of habit more than genuine disgust and distaste, but now it sounded like he truly blamed Shinigami as a whole.

”Grimmjow....since when did you...”

The blunet actually lets out a slight, manic laugh as he slumps to sit down, letting go of the barrier for now, ending the sparks and the unnerving shaking for now.

”Since when did I hate you fuckers as a whole?”

Ichigo just nods, his brown eyes wide. It began to sound like the blunet was finally having a breakdown that the ginger had been so worried about; his unstable laugh and near hysterical grin was a clear sign of that.

” _I don’t._ I really couldn’t give a damn, and  that’s the problem.”

Grimmjow chuckles out, sounding a bit loopy right now, brushing trough his hair slowly, his whole body shaking from the hysterical snickering.

Before Ichigo could even ask what he meant, blue eyes zero in on him, and the ginger was pretty sure the man wasn’t doing it on purpose, but an IMMENSE weight of willpower settled on top of him, completely paralyzing his body.

”I don’t have enough _reasons_ ta fight it. To care to fix this whole thing. The only reason I could think of s’ a promise to a _dead man_ , and I’m not sure if it’s worth it.”

His grin was wide, but it wasn’t a happy one, but rather, reminded Ichigo of the lunatic smirk the man had sported in that one memory, when finishing off that giant Menos. Except, even that had had some level of joy in it. This one was borderline sardonic.

”I....”

Ichigo was at a loss of words now, as his brain processed everything Grimmjow had just spat out.

It was pretty much what he’d feared; the blunet had to be suffering from a rather deeply rooted depression, he'd just been hiding it, probably out of habit and how hollows usually worked when it came to emotion and showing weakness so to say.

Silence lands between them, and eventually Grimmjow turns his back to Ichigo, making the weight on the ginger’s mind clear away, allowing him to breathe easier again.

_”Ya’d be better off if you’d just kill me.”_

The blunet mutters out, so quiet Ichigo almost didn’t hear it.

But he did, and it made ice course trough his veins.

**”No.”**

That was all he could think of saying, and it was a word that kept repeating in his mind, even if he said it only once.

 

_No._

 

 

 

Shirosaki could tell Ichi was upset. His worst fear had been finally confirmed, after Grimmjow’s admission.

His surroundings were really dim right now, reflecting Ichi’s mood, and Shirosaki didn’t like it.

He didn’t like how lost the ginger felt, not knowing what to do or say right now. He usually had an idea how to help somebody, but when it came to deep emotional scarring like this, what the hell was a nineteen-year-old, soon to be twenty, to do? He was still too young to deal with such shit, empathic or not. 

Sure, he'd lost his mother a while back, and that had hit the boy hard, but what Grimmjow had gone trough, he'd never had anybody to support him trough it.

His pain was MUCH worse because of this, and Ichigo did not know how to even _begin_ dealing with something this deeply rooted and centuries old.

 

 

_”This is but another obstacle of life Ichigo must overcome.”_

 

Shirosaki looks up at the old man with a miffed look.

He didn’t particularly get along with the guy, who kept complaining that he was too childish or reckless, when he wasn’t calling Shirosaki an outsider.

Basically, the old guy was a **butt,** but right now, even he sounded a bit more concerned than usual.

”What can Ichi do ’ere? Grimm’s pretty down n’ the metaphorical ditch, an’ he ain’t even lettin’ us ta try n’ understand or get a better idea on what ta do when he keeps blocking us!”

The old man turns to look down at him slowly, and Shirosaki knew what was coming.

_”It is not ’us’ he is blocking, hollow. You are not part of Ichigo the same way I am.”_

”Yeah yeah, ya keep sayin’ that old fart. Like I didn’t know.”

_”I am not trying to insult you, I am merely stating facts.”_

Shirosaki says nothing to that, just gets up and wanders around the darkened mind-scape.

The old man’s words stung as usual, but there was something else he couldn’t get out of his mind; earlier, Grimmjow had said something that made Shirosaki wonder if what the damned coal haired, floaty coat bastard was saying was true or not.

Looking at his pale hands, Shirosaki kept thinking back on those words.

He’d been there from the start.

If Grimmjow was right... why did the old butt keep insisting that he wasn't a part of Ichi? Did he _know_ the truth and just fuck with Shirosaki, or was he also being misled by something?

The pale figure sighs and gazes up at the constantly cloudy sky. It had calmed down, which signaled that Ichi had finally fallen asleep, and after a moment, Shirosaki figures he might as well do what he’d done earlier.

Stepping in control again, Shirosaki opens his eyes; he was now resting in Nelliel’s old chambers as staying at Grimmjow’s wasn’t exactly a good idea.

The trio was sleeping at the other side of the room, piled up together like a bunch of kids having a sleepover. The couch he’d been resting on was as uncomfortable as the one Grimmjow had, but at least he’d taken a pillow and a blanket with him when Ichi had switched rooms.

The pale figure sighs and closes his eyes, beginning his meditation. He didn’t have to do this as long this time, as he’d already refreshed Ichi last night.

Still, this could only work for so long, and now there was another Shinigami who could starve to death if they didn't fix this soon.

Once he was done, Shirosaki decides he didn’t want to go back to having to hear the old guy talk cryptic stuff and call him childish, so he gets up and decides to wander a bit.

Most of the place he’d seen trough Ichigo’s memories already, but it didn’t matter. Shirosaki wanders his way to the throne room, where Urahara had set shop so to say, camping in one corner. He was fiddling with the device he’d had with him, as well as the scanner Ichi had had. Urahara glances up at him but says nothing, continuing to do whatever he was doing, so Shirosaki ignores the shinigami as well.

He walks to the thrones, drawn towards a specific one. A pale hand brushes over the armrest, as he examines the panther carving on the back, as well as the number six. Shirosaki couldn’t stop but wonder if the carving was an accurate representation of Grimmjow’s lost zanpakuto spirit.

As his gaze drifts downwards, a conversation suddenly appears in his head; Shirosaki lets out a quiet snicker as he recalls what Grimmjow had said while drunk.

That whole story about fucking his Fraccion on this thing, and Ichi’s reaction... it had been so funny.

Funny, but also a bit...intriguing.

It felt about the most inappropriate thing one could do on this highly symbolic thing, and yet it just fit so _perfectly_ to Grimmjow somehow, to do shit like that.

As he sits down on to the throne, noting the same detail as Ichigo had that it was uncomfortable as fuck, Shirosaki couldn’t help but think... how would it feel like?

Not just doing things like that here, but... _in general._

With Grimmjow.

Shirosaki’s fingers brush his neck, the slight bite-mark that was still there.

Thinking about it was a weird mixture of fear and this fluttery feeling on his chest, and the pale figure wasn’t sure if he should be feeling the latter.

He had a hunch that Ichi was _also_ attracted to Grimmjow, and at least cared about him - sky was blue - but Shirosaki wasn’t sure how _aware_ the ginger was about it.

He was HIGHLY aware of his own attraction however; it had not disappeared even after the intense fear had appeared.

He’d voiced it out in Ichigo’s face, which the ginger had taken as him being a perverted jester.

It was kinda true, but he’d also meant his words.

He gazes at his pale hands again, not knowing how to feel about this whole thing.

Should he tell Ichi about it?

It...could not be exactly right, given this body didn’t belong to him.

But he was so _sure_ Ichi had similar thoughts about Grimmjow, even if he didn’t acknowledge it.

Shirosaki sighs frustrated, slumping his face against his palms.

”You seem troubled.”

Shirosaki’s gaze shoots up, and he finds Urahara had walked to the end of the stairs that led to the thrones. He didn’t really know how to react to this man, so the pale figure just gazed at him dully in complete silence.

”Don’t worry; I happen to be aware that you aren’t exactly an ill-mannered hollow.”

”Yeah, well... I got ta vibe ya know more ’bout me than Ichi does.”

Urahara hums, and then sits at the end of the stairs. After a moment, Shirosaki gets up and paces to him, sitting beside the man. It felt like the sand blond haired shinigami wanted to talk to him.

”I believe Kurosaki-san has given you a name?”

”T’s Shirosaki. Y’ know, ’cause m’ white and look like him.”

The pale figure shrugs, curling up and leaning his arms over his knees.

”This must’ve been quite the time for you, given you were only just awakened.”

”Tell me ’bout it. I was super happy ta meet Ichi, but then...shit just dun make _sense._ The old butt tells me one thing, then Grimm says another, and I dunno what to believe anymore.”

Shirosaki mumbles out, rubbing his head slightly.

Urahara hums sympathetic, then closes his fan, turning to face his pale companion a little more.

”I must apologize for that. It is probably _my_ fault.”

The golden eyes shoot up and look at the man surprised, and Urahara holds his hand up before Shirosaki could voice any questions out.

”We can get to that later, I promise; I was supposed to talk about this to Kurosaki-san before this whole portal issue appeared. Right now, we need to fix the situation going on with Jeagerjaquez-san.”

”Easier said than done, he dun want ta listen ta Ichi.”

”No, but perhaps he’ll listen to _you_.”

Shirosaki just stares at the shinigami like he’d lost his mind. Based on what he could gather from Ichi’s memories, maybe this guy was loopy.

”Based on what I overheard... Jeagerjaquez finds Ichigo’s Shinigami status... troubling. You on the other hand are a hollow like him.”

”It ain’t got _nothin’_ ta do wit that even if it sounded like it! Grimm’s just...”

Shirosaki closes his mouth and turns his gaze away; why was he even talking about this with this guy?

”Regardless, you should try. I believe you may have a different perspective on the situation, and given you are afraid of him, perhaps we can avoid that earlier flash of anger that seemed to be caused by Ichigo’s stubbornness.”

”How exactly does me bein’ _afraid_ help here?”

”Perhaps... right now the person that you need to appeal to isn’t _Jeagerjaquez_ , but the King of Hueco Mundo.”

What did that even _mean?_

Urahara seems to notice Shirosaki’s confusion, as he laughs sheepishly, opening his fan again.

”He sees you two very differently; based on my observations so far, Jeagerjaquez-san seems to see Ichigo as an **equal,** which unfortunately means he’ll be taking Kurosaki-san’s words very personally, because they _matter_. You on the other hand...he sees you trough the lens of a **King.** Jeagerjaquez-san might not be aware of it, but he is doing it subconsciously.”

”How’d ya figure all that out when ya been ’ere only fer few hours?”

”The fact he wants to devour your essence is a clear sign he sees you as somebody _below_ his level, even if only subconsciously. Believe me I've studied into this world and it's mysteries longer and deeper than people are even aware of.”

That stung pretty bad, and also sent a chill down Shirosaki’s spine as he was reminded of that fact once again.

”Kurosaki-san ends up picking the wrong things to say, because Grimmjow is merely a person to him, a person he cares for deeply, but still somebody of equal status. Jeagerjaquez-san in turn seems to have _acknowledged_ and _accepted_ this, which makes the two of them talking emotional matters out difficult given how temperamental they both are, and how they will take each other's words to heart. What we'd need right now would be somebody who'd be making a  request to the king, not a friend making demands."

"I...don't get it.” Shirosaki states truthfully.

Urahara chuckles a bit, then reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. It was such a casual gesture that Shirosaki hadn’t expected, making him freeze momentarily under the touch.

”What I am trying to say is...you might be able to avoid triggering his highly volatile temper and make him _listen_ , because he doesn't feel the need to respond to you with fury the same way he feels the need to match what Ichigo is throwing at him.”

 

"I still don't get it."

Urahara sighs dramatically.

"Rather than challenging his ego like Ichigo does naturally, you stroke it."

Well, putting it _that_ way....flattery tended to go far, right?

 

 

Shirosaki walked towards Grimmjow’s chamber, anxiety raising with each step he took.

The pale figure had _no clue_ how to do this; how was he supposed to talk to Grimm like you would to a king? The whole ego-stroking thing sounded kind of weird honestly, as he had a feeling Grimm did not like bootlickers that much.  Shirosaki was pretty sure Urahara had not meant stuff like manners either, because the blunet never gave a fuck about that.

So what WAS he supposed to do or say?

He stops on the doorway, then after a moment of hesitation, sucks in a deep breath and steps in.

Grimmjow was lying on his back, eyes closed, but Shirosaki was fairly certain he wasn’t asleep.

The slashes he’d made to the barrier were gone, which did ease his mind a little. Part of him hoped Ichi would stirr and stop him from doing this, but the ginger was still fast asleep. With a deep sigh, Shirosaki slides down to sit on the spot Ichigo had, wondering how he should try and get Grimmjow’s attention. There was one sure way of doing it, but Shirosaki was kind of uneasy about sticking his hand inside the protective barrier.

Still, he lifts his pale limb and slowly brings it up to touch and phase it trough the orange glow.

”Don’t.”

Shirosaki pulls his hand back as if he was burned, and looks at the blunet wide-eyed, as he pulls himself up to a sitting position, leaning one of his arms against his knee.

When he opens his eyes, they were sharp, sharper than usual, and Shirosaki swallows down nervously.

”The barrier ain’t helping that much anymore. I can _smell_ ya from ’ere.”

Okay, that sounded bad.

Shirosaki shakes his head, gathering up his courage.

This was pathetic honestly; why was he so freaked out when Ichi had been able to stay so brave even when Grimmjow had gone and nearly shattered the barrier.

...Probably because of the very reasons Urahara had described. Some wicked, instinctive power-play was going on, and it was really frustrating.

”I...what Ichi said earlier, he didn’t mean it like that.”

”I know.”

Grimmjow huffs and slumps back to the mattress, covering his eyes with his arm. It was easier to ignore the slight tempting scent floating around him when he didn’t see the source.

Shirosaki grows quiet, unsure on how to respond to that.

Finally, he settles on an answer.

”Still. M’sorry he came off...like he was guilt-trippin’ you or whatever. He just...he didn’t know how to say what he actually wanted ta say.”

The blunet grunts, but says nothing. Shirosaki couldn’t stop but wonder how much he was able to listen, and how much he had to focus on not trying to bash down the protective barrier between them.

”Ichi cares about you a lot. He’s not always good at expressin’ stuff with words.”

Grimmjow actually chuckles at that, and drops the arm from in front of his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

”That was pretty obvious.”

Okay, so he didn’t sound too pissy at the moment, which was good probably. Shirosaki had no idea what he was doing right, but apparently he was.

”He really just wanted ta ask if you’d...let ’im in you know.”

The blue eyes snap at Shirosaki now, and he scoots back a little, a chill traveling down his spine.

Grimmjow pushes himself up, but remains in his spot, though clearly straining to do so.

_Why the fuck did he have to smell that good?_

Shirosaki didn’t mind the thought of having Grimmjow’s hands and mouth on him, but...not like that.

He didn’t wanna be eaten.

Not _literally_ anyway.

Wait, why was he even thinking about this stuff right now?

”I block ’im for a reason you know.”

”Yeah, I get that. Given the shit you’ve gone trough, and how he reacted when he saw some of those memories...”

Shirosaki trails off, turning his gaze aside. His body was shaking lightly, as if it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be scared or... turned on, by the predatory look aimed at him. Shirosaki almost wanted to groan inwardly right now; this was not really the time for him to be messing around with his whole attraction thing. It wouldn’t really be right, given this body belonged to Ichi and it _wasn’t_ his own.

”But...you know...if you’d let ’im in a little, he could perhaps really help ya.”

The blue eyes turn away after a moment, and Shirosaki noted he could breathe easier again.

”He’s done enough. None of this had anythin’ ta do with him.”

”Ichi doesn’t think that; he wants to make sure yer fine. Not just that yer out here, but that yer also okay.”

”I know, he’s a fucking moron like that.”

Grimmjow huffs and brushes trough his hair irritated.

”So, you probably get that he’s not gonna back down, not till he thinks he’s done.”

A slight, bitter chuckle escapes Grimmjow’s throat; he was _highly_ aware of this goddamn fact.

The fact Kurosaki had gone this far when he should’ve just destroyed his zanpakuto or left it where it was... Ichigo Kurosaki did not back down, not even when he should.

”Well too bad fer ’im. I’m every bit as stubborn as he is. He can try to help me all he wants, but I’m not gonna let ’im. He’s been wasting enough of his time anyway.”

Shirosaki frowns, a bit of frustration seeping into him. He could understand how Ichi had felt earlier, when trying to talk to Grimmjow about this. However, as he thought about those words some more, Shirosaki began to understand the hidden meaning behind them.

In fact, the more he thought about it, the more his train of thought made sense.

”Ya don’t wanna let him help ya anymore, ’cause... you think he’s just gonna go down the same route as Kaien.”

The blunet _froze_ , completely, even his breathing stopped for a moment.

”Ya think that Ichi’s gonna do something stupid an’ then get himself _killed_ while tryin’ ta help you....like...like what your friend did.”

It was so **_obvious_** , when you thought about it, and the sudden realization was probably visible on his face as well.

Grimmjow’s expression was tense, and he refused to look at Shirosaki.

The pale figure just gazes at him with wide eyes, wondering _how the hell_ did Ichigo miss this? He'd been so focused on worrying over Grimmjow mourning his friend, that he hadn't even thought about what HIS relationship with the blunet meant.

”....You really like Ichi, don’t ya?”

He finally mutters out after a moment, his voice really quiet.

Grimmjow didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to.

It was kind of bittersweet to know that; he was happy for Ichigo that the blunet actually did like him, but...again, it made him feel like a third wheel.

”M’tired of reckless morons dyin’ for my sake.”

Grimmjow comments solemnly, pushing himself up again to gaze out of the window.

Shirosaki watches his lonesome silhouette for a moment, up until a thought pops up in his head.

”Then... let me do it. Look into your mind and see if...if I can do what the sandal-hat proposed.”

The blunet turns to look at him with a deep frown on his face, but Shirosaki didn’t back down.

”Ya said it yourself; ya don’t want people you care about die anymore. Then just let somebody you don’t give a shit about do it, simple.”

The blunet just stares at him quiet for a long moment.

” **No.** I told ya, if you die, Kurosaki will die too.”

”But if we weren’t part of ta same soul, then would you...”

Grimmjow gets up and marches towards Shirosaki, striking against the barrier again to startle the pale figure, though this time he only uses his fist.

Shirosaki just looks up at the man, who stood there, shadowing him and blocking the moonlight coming in from the window behind him.

Urahara’s words suddenly echoed in his head, and Shirosaki could now  _see_ the difference in attitude right before his eyes, even if he was certain Grimmjow himseld didn’t realize it.

Back when he’d spat at Ichigo, he’d crouched down to be on the eye-level with the Shinigami.

Now he had chosen to _tower_ above Shirosaki, like the pale figure was a lesser being.

” _Stop. Being. A dumbass._ I don’t know who the hell is claiming yer some sorta parasite in his brain, because that sure as hell ain’t true! I could fuckin’ SENSE if there were two beings in that body.”

Shirosaki backs away further, but keeps looking up at the furious blue eyes.

There was even a slight difference behind the _anger_ there.

With Ichigo, it had been bitter, personal in a sense that Grimmjow had felt personally _insulted_ by the words coming out of the mouth of somebody he held a level of respect for.

Now, he was reprimanding and berating an _underling_ of sorts.

He uncurls his fist to place it flat against the barrier surface, tilting his head downwards slightly with an intense glare.

Shirosaki was not that much shorter than Grimmjow, given Ichigo wasn’t, but right now he felt small.

”I would _not_ let you do this even if you were. ”

”H-huh?”

”Cause I’d rather wanna do some other shit to you than just eat yer soul - which will happen if ya get too close right now.”

It took a moment for those words to sink in, but once they did, Shirosaki felt his face heat up, and something stir in his gut.

There was this weird instinctive part of him that felt incredibly _pleased_ by that admission, even if it was kind of questionable.

”Ichi might not like that...he might get jealous, or y’ know....”

Grimmjow flashes him an actual grin for once, the kind that could leave _anyone_ all hot and bothered.

”Who said it’s just you? And if that ginger bastard thinks I can’t tell he’s got a fucking thing fer me, he got another thing coming.”

Oh.

**OH.**

Shirosaki just gazes up at him, realizing that the man had admitted something to him he probably wouldn’t tell Ichigo, at least not this easily.

The blunet slumps down to sit in front of the barrier now, but his posture was not the same tired slouch from before; he was resting his arm over his knee in a lazy, kind of arrogant posture.

Arrogant, as in the aura he was putting up screamed dominance to Shirosaki, and he suddenly felt highly uncomfortable and warm in his skin.

”So **no**. M’not letting ya peek into my brain either.”

”Y-you don’t even know why we’d wanna do that...”

Shirosaki mumbles out, to which the man just snorts.

”I do know. I heard it from Kurosaki’s thoughts. It’s not gonna work. _I’d know_ if she still was somewhere in there.”

Grimmjow tells him firmly, bit of that anger seeping back into him.

”Grimm....”

**_”Don’t call me that, weakling.”_ **

The blunet suddenly growls, and his words seem to surprise them both.

Grimmjow just stares at him for a moment.

_”Leave.”_

It wasn’t a loud demanding growl like what he’d done with Ichigo. It was simply an order, and Shirosaki found himself following it, leaving the room with deep conflict in his heart right now.

He did not see the blue eyes looking after him with a solemn expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
> Yeah.  
> It's time for the childish snowball to shine.  
> Also  
> His official nickname for Zangetsu is indeed, the Old Butt  
> I swear, Urahara is like a walking encyclopedia at this point. Then again, he always was


	24. Borrowing the soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble stirs in the palace.  
> Shirosaki's having self-esteem issues

Urahara was a little disappointed his idea did not work.

The next morning - well he assumed it was morning by looking at his watch - he’d requested from Ichigo to talk with his hollow, which the ginger had agreed confusedly. Shirosaki had pretty much told the man that Grimmjow had refused him like he’d refused Ichigo, though Urahara could tell there had been something else too, something the pale twin of Ichigo didn’t wish to mention.

Urahara had a hunch on what it was, but he decided not to mention it for now.

It was... a _complicated_ matter, and Shirosaki should discuss it trough with Ichigo privately.

”So what else can we do, if he refuses to let us help him?”

Ichigo asks a little apprehensive, frustrated that the blunet was blocking them out still. He could tell that Grimmjow ABSOLUTELY needed someone to be there for him, but he just refused to let them do it for him.

Plus... whatever he’d told Shirosaki, it had some sort of effect on the pale doppleganger, as he’d become quieter than normal, and if they skirted even close to Grimmjow’s room, Ichigo would feel him sort of fidget anxiously in his mind.

It wasn’t the same fear from before though.

”Well, I have been working on a device of sorts built from my portal opener and your scanner, that could perhaps create a temporary hole. The problem is, it won’t solve the ’bubbling’ problem the Hueco Mundo atmosphere is having right now due to Jeagerjaquez-san’s involuntary pulses.”

Ichigo sighs, understanding the issue all too well; he could feel it himself now in fact, the way the atmosphere around them seethed. It was getting worse each day.

”I guess I’ll have to try and talk to him again.”

”Persuasion might be our only option; the _only_ way you can enter his mind the way we need you to, is to gain permission. Otherwise he might force you out before you find what you are looking for.”

The ginger frowns, unsure if he could ever actually find it anyway.

 

 

 

Shirosaki watched Ichi argue with Grimmjow about this for the third time.

The blunet just _refused_ to open his mind for the ginger, no matter how many times he tried to reason with him.

It really hurt, seeing that, because Shirosaki could tell Ichigo was growing desperate.

Urahara had had to reinforce the barrier twice now, as the blunet had almost busted trough once during an episode, and even now his eyes had that sharp predatory look in them, that wasn’t exactly aimed at Ichi even if Grimmjow was glaring at him while spatting at his face.

Ichi was really frustrated and worried, he couldn’t really sleep that well for the past two days, forcing Shirosaki to come out more often just so he wouldn’t collapse out of exhaustion. The pale figure knew what the issue was, why Grimmjow was reluctant to let Ichi fix this, but for some reason he could not bring himself to say it.

Each time they spoke, when Ichi asked him if he had any ideas, he felt his tongue get tied -metaphorically speaking - and he just _couldn’t_ voice it out.

 

 

~~He doesn’t wanna you to get killed because you tried to help him.~~

 

 

_He doesn’t want what happened to Kaien to repeat itself._

 

 

~~He’s scared for you, Ichi, but he doesn’t wanna admit it.~~

 

 

As those thoughts repeated themselves within his mind, left unsaid for the umpteenth time, Shirosaki ruffles his hair frustrated, wishing he could just spill it out, but he just... **couldn’t.**

He didn’t do it on purpose, he had no reason to keep this from Ichi, he just seemed to lose his voice each time he tried to speak about it.

 

_”Talking with him by yourself was not a wise choice.”_

 

”Oh shut it old butt, it’s not like you’ve been helpful!”

 

_”You know why I haven’t been able to aid Ichigo.”_

 

The old man points out calmly, but Shirosaki just glares at him.

”Just ’cause ya can’t talk wit Ichi, it dun mean ya can’t tell me id ya know something.”

As the silence mounted, the hollow squints his eyes towards the damn old butt.

 

”...Ya **do** know somethin’ don’t ya?”

 

_”I assumed such an instinctual thing would be obvious for you.”_

 

The man comments calmly, making Shirosaki’s glare turn more intense, and he demands the old butt to tell him what he knew. For a long moment, the old man remains silent, his hair and coat swinging in an imaginary wind.

 

_”...There is an **order** placed upon you that seals your lips. I believe it was not a conscious choice from your superior, but it is there.” _

 

What the hell did that even mean?

 

_”That hollow king does not wish Ichigo to find out about what you know, so he has put a mental choke hold on you to keep you quiet. It was not done on purpose I believe, as that man has not been in proper control of his instincts for a long time.”_

 

Slowly, Shirosaki begins to grasp what the old man was saying, and he brings his hand up to brush his neck, as if expecting to find an actual chain there or something. So that’s why he couldn’t tell Ichi about it.

”I...I need to let Ichi know ’bout that. I think it’d help him choose his damn words better instead of gettin’ frustrated.”

 

_”That, is a matter you must discuss with the hollow king himself.”_

Shirosaki almost wanted to roll his eyes.

Yeah, no shit.

He was rather nervous to do so however.

But he had to.

 

 

 

That night, it took Ichigo a while to fall asleep, given how troubled he was.

Shirosaki waited few extra minutes patiently, before taking over their body. He had a feeling Ichigo was aware of him doing it in some level, but did not panic like one normally would, because he clearly trusted Shirosaki.

Which was...weird, or not weird at all, depending who was telling the truth. He takes in a deep breath and starts walking on Grimmjow’s room again.

The man was resting on his usual spot, hand covering his eyes as he rubbed his temple. He actually looked better now than before, almost if withdrawal symptoms were subsiding slowly. Or he was just getting so used to the hunger now he began to be less and less bothered by it.

”So now yer tryin’ to convince me as well?”

Grimmjow mutters out, his voice tired. He had not moved away from his room in several days, fighting within himself to keep his beastly self in check, but it was clearly taking its toll on him.

”I guess. I don’ expect ta succeed though.”

Shirosaki admits as he sits down on the usual spot, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his lap. The blunet hums, then shifts slowly to sit up and lean his back against the couch to turn and look at him. The predatory look in his eyes no longer scared Shirosaki as much, but it did make him uncomfortable still.

”Ichi keeps thinkin’ yer keeping us at arms length ’cause you’ve given up. It ain’t true though, ain’t it? I don’t think you’d be fighting this much against it if ya had. Ichi's not gonna buy that lie for long, y know?”

”I **told** ya, don’t want either of you near my brain.”

”Why though?”

Shirosaki asks with a huff, looking at the man with a slight scowl.

Grimmjow remains quiet, then shifts and gets up, walking to him. Like last time, he chose to stand above Shirosaki, hands in his pockets.

”I told ya why as well.”

The pale figure chews on his lip a bit, then slowly gets up as well, feeling a slight anxiety tug in his gut for the action.

Grimmjow just examines him stoic, though there was a hint of annoyance at the fact Shirosaki had stood up _without permission._

He was not doing it consciously.

Shirosaki didn’t know how he was able to tell, but he was.

”Why woulda us - or Ichi - seein’ into your mind fer a bit endanger him? I honestly just want ta understand that.”

Grimmjow snorts, and his glare makes Shiro lower his gaze to the floor.

”There’s some fucked up shit in there. A hollow’s mind ain’t the same as peeking into his moronic brain. He almost got killed already when he tried ta do it.”

”But...wasn’t that...because of that seal on yer zanpakuto?”

A low growl emanates from Grimmjow’s throat, and Shirosaki winces, backing away a bit. The dominant, instinctive side clearly did **not** like the fact he was being questioned by somebody _below_ his level.

”I-I mean... that’s what ya told Ichi, right?”

”....Yes.”

”So...it...can’t be that anymore, can it?”

His voice was so tiny it was embarrassing, but the mental pressure was really overwhelming, and he kind of wanted to kneel back down again. The dominance instinct was _really_ powerful thing.

”....Why are ya askin’ this now, Shirosaki?”

There was a hint of involuntary authority in his tone, a slight ordering vibe that left no room for argument nor refusal. It was so unnerving and a bit upsetting, because Grimmjow NEVER did any of this with Ichi.

Ichi was an _equal._

But Shirosaki could not hate The ginger for it, he knew they weren’t equal, even if Ichi might’ve behaved so, the pale figure knew better than that.

”I...just wanna understand. Maybe I can make Ichi understand if you let me. Then ya might be able ta get on the same page and all...”

”I’m NOT lettin’ him OR you into my mind, so stop asking for it!”

Grimmjow snarls at him, and Shirosaki lets out a whimper, backing away slightly frightened. This was not going well at all.

He refused to back down however.

”I’m not askin’ that right now. I just wanna be able ta tell Ichi somethin’ to ease his mind. He can barely sleep, n’ its hard ta keep his body functioning when he over-stresses himself, and we cannot fill his food supply.”

The blunet’s expression tightens a bit and he looks aside.

Shirosaki could feel a tiny bit of _guilt_ emanate from him.

Of course Grimmjow would feel bad for Ichi’s plight, he cared for Ichi.

 _They_ were equals after all.

Cautiously, Shirosaki places his palm against the barrier, and the blue eyes shoot back up at him, sharpening instantly as his scent got closer.

”Let Ichi know what the real problem is. He’ll know what ta do an’ say better then.”

Grimmjow remains quiet for a long time, blue eyes examining the white figure quietly. As Shirosaki finds himself kind of mesmerized by the intense blue hue, he doesn’t realize he was putting too much weight on the barrier.

Suddenly, the glowing surface gives in, allowing him to fall trough, colliding face-first with the floor.

Shirosaki lets out a groan as he pushes himself to a sitting position, rubbing his nose. It wasn’t bleeding but his head hurt pretty bad, making him see stars. A chill travels down his spine and Shirosaki looks up, suddenly realizing that he’d probably put himself in a dangerous situation.

Grimmjow was looking down at him still slightly shocked upon the pale figure entering trough the barrier so abruptly, but there was that predatory tint to his blue eyes as well.

Shirosaki scoots back as the man steps closer, not looking where he was going and ending up colliding his back against a wall, instead of going back trough the barrier. He watches as the blunet stalks towards him, clearly slightly cautious given the tenseness of his shoulders. Shirosaki wanted to say something or just let out any noise, but he was unable to utter out even a tiny whimper; he had not realized it, but the barricade did not _only_ block his scent from reaching Grimmjow.

The dominant pressure was MUCH worse when inside the glowing orange walls, to the point Shirosaki couldn’t even try and shake his twin awake to deal with the situation.

_He was trapped._

Grimmjow stops in front of him, and Shirosaki pulls his legs up against himself, curling up slightly in an attempt to make himself appear smaller. It was not done consciously, but rather an instinctive reaction that he couldn’t stop.

The blunet just examines him quietly for a moment, hands in his pockets. His hunger-laced eyes flickered towards his neck briefly, and Shirosaki felt the need to place a hand over the bite-mark still visible in his skin, or otherwise cover his vulnerable spot.

”.....It’s kinda weird how badly this affects you.”

”H-huh?”

Grimmjow crouches down so he’s on eye-level with Shirosaki, poking his forehead with a sharp finger, making Shirosaki yelp and rub the spot a little freaked out.

”A humanoid hollow shoulda _not_ be this easily manipulated by the willpower of a superior. I’m not even doin’ it on purpose most of the time, an’ yer still on the floor like yer my bitch.”

The pale figure kind of wants to scowl at the man for the choice of words, but he couldn’t really deny the fact he was really being affected by the aura Grimmjow was putting off. The fact this seemed to... bother Grimmjow somewhat was strangely comforting. The man did not seem to like the fact Shirosaki was so easily manipulated by his involuntary dominant pressure.

”I could barely do that to Kurosaki. I’ve tried an’ usually the result is he’ll get a fucking nosebleed for resisting so much, or not even that happens.”

”Well...I mean...ya can affect Ichi a lil’ bit...”

The blunet tilts his head slightly, then reaches his hand out to poke Shirosaki painfully on his forehead again.

”Not ta same thing; that’s what I _don’t_ get. Yer supposed to be the same person, but for some reason yer much weaker towards me than he is.”

Before Shirosaki could even form a coherent reply in his head, the hand slips down to trail his jaw, stopping to rest against his skin while a thumb pressed against the pale lips.

His previous cold chills turned to hot ones now, and Shirosaki had to resist the strange urge to lick his finger.

Ichi would not appreciate that, him using this body to do such things without his permission.

Eventually, the digit slips away from his quivering lips, and Grimmjow rests his hand against his neck now, not really grasping it but holding it in a way that could be seen as slightly threatening. Basically, he could cut off Shirosaki’s air supply or break his neck if he wanted to. Shirosaki wasn't too sure if Grimmjow was doing it to test just how much he could affect the pale version of Ichigo exactly, or if some dark part of him did enjoy messing with him despite the man's apparent displeasure towards Shirosaki's submissive behavior.

If he did enjoy it, Grimmjow either didn't realize it, or didn't want to admit it.

”I...dunno why it is either. It’s...weird.”

The pale figure mumbles out, averting his gaze from the blue eyes examining him.

The hand grasping his throat - well resting against it to be exact - was really warm, and Shirosaki kind of wants to grasp it and bring it to some other, more comfortable places, but the chances were the blunet would flip his shit if he did that, losing the bits of control he seemed to have right now.

”Look...what I said...it still stands. Ya should tell Ichi about that. I mean...I can’t go an’ say it’s a baseless fear, ’cause it probably ain’t, but...”

The hand on his neck tightens a bit, and Shirosaki shuts up instantly, looking up at the blunet with widened eyes.

What he sees in the sharp blue gaze however is not anger but some sort of internal conflict.

”Ichi won’t think yer weak for it. Neither of us do.”

Shirosaki tries to persuade him again, cautiously bringing his pale hand up to grasp the one holding his throat. Grimmjow growls at him slightly, but Shirosaki refuses to drop his hand, just holding it there.

”If ya dun wanna, let me do it then. _I’ll_ talk wit’ Ichi about this.”

The blunet’s glare silences him, and he could tell how tense Grimmjow was; it was clear that part of him understood the situation and why he really should cooperate, but another part of him refused to give in.

He hated admitting his fears or acknowledging weaknesses, he always had.

Having a lesser hollow try and coax him to do so felt _insulting_ , at least to his instinctive, dominant side, even if he understood where Shirosaki was coming from.

Whenever he got it or not didn't matter; without Pantera he was too much under control of his uglier, instinctive side.

The only reason he hadn’t killed the pale figure yet was because this hollow was attached to a person he somehow gave a shit about.

Grimmjow wasn’t honestly sure why; part of him wondered if his care for Kurosaki was purely because he reminded Kaien, and the aforementioned man had sort of asked him to look after Ichigo and help him learn to understand his hollow side.

The very side sitting before him right now, who was _nothing_ like what they’d expected.

Shirosaki opens his mouth again to probably try and reason with him some more, but Grimmjow knew he was not gonna listen to whatever the pale figure had to say; even if his brain wasn’t currently as messed up thanks to his instincts becoming uncontrollable as usual, he’d still not want either of these two anywhere near his mind.

There was something there he didn’t want them to see.

Something they’d likely run into if they tried to pull of the sandal-hat’s plan, something that was worse than the beastly, broken form he sometimes took.

Grimmjow was pretty damn sure that if they would run into _him_ , Kurosaki would probably get himself killed, or at least suffer some serious brain- or soul-damage.

What THAT bastard would do to Shirosaki, he didn't even dare to think about. 

 

So, before Shirosaki could utter out a word, Grimmjow slips his hand to grasp the Shinigami robe he was wearing, and tugs him off the wall roughly, nearly shoving him trough the barrier.

”Go. I can’t handle yer smell for much longer.”

The man growls at him; Shirosaki just gazes at the man with widened eyes for a good while, so he proceeds to strike at the barrier again, this time actually cracking it when only using his fist.

**_”Leave, now.”_ **

He consciously orders the pale skinned young man, and Shirosaki nearly sprints away, clearly freaked out by his tone.

Grimmjow sighs and slumps to sit on the floor again, rubbing his eyes frustrated.

He _knew_ that letting those two help was probably the right thing to do, but he....

There was some stuff Kurosaki did not know about hollows yet, stuff that even his hollow companion didn’t seem to be aware of.

Any hollow should get why peeking into his brain was a bad idea, at least if you went to the depths they wanted to.

He’d NEVER let Kaien look into his mind that deeply either, only letting the man see whatever was necessary for the situation.

Silent communication during a battle to trick the enemy, telling him mutely that he was a fucking dumbass - which always made the bastard laugh as a response - or just stating where some of his fellow Espadas could shove their blades into. Namely, he’d referred to Nnoitra or Yammy when this particular topic came up.

All that was fine, but what Kurosaki wanted to do went a bit too deep into his mind.

In a place where _that_ bit of him lived.

The one currently laughing like a maniac and having fun messing with him.

As he looked after the direction Shirosaki had gone, Grimmjow couldn't stop but wonder though; the pale twin of Kurosaki appeared a lot like _him._ He'd been wondering for a while, if Shirosaki was in fact... something like THAT thing inside his soul and mind. it didn't make much sense though, Kurosaki was not a hollow, and Shirosaki behaved nothing like those things usually did.

Yet... he couldn't stop but wonder.

 

 

Ichigo did not feel too good; Shirosaki was trying his best, but he felt constantly tired now.

His last bits of food had ran out, and even the surprise hidden supply Urahara had - the man said he was always prepared for unexpected survival situations - was now empty.

The man had been working on his other idea of opening a portal so they could get back home, but Grimmjow’s constantly pulsing energy was interfering with it too much. Going further away from the palace didn’t help, as they’d just risk running into hungry hollows, and Urahara was fairly certain it would take ages from them to find a more relaxed spot in this turmoil of an atmosphere. The ginger was not known to be a quitter, but things looked bleak; they hadn’t even been able to gain contact with anybody on their side now.

With a sigh, he leaned back against the couch he was sitting on.

Moments later, Nel flopped to sit beside him, looking up at Ichigo with widened, worried eyes.

”Itsygo dun look so good.”

”Yeah, Itsygo doesn’t feel too good either.”

The ginger admits as he gazes at the ceiling, not really knowing what to do. Trying to progress his private matters with Shirosaki did not feel like an appropriate thing to do right now, besides Urahara had hinted that he might know more about this particular topic as well.

However, the man had refused to explain anything, stating that it was something he’d likely have to hear from his dad himself. It was frustrating, but the same time, Ichigo was pretty sure he _wouldn’t_ be able to deal with any personal issues until this whole thing with Grimmjow could be fixed.

”I don’t know what to do Nel; I cannot exactly undo everything that’s happened to him.”

The shinigami admits to the little girl sitting beside him, who had apparently forgotten about her worry for Itsygo for now, and was looking trough his bag curiously now, even crawling in to it like the thing was some sort of cave or so. She peeks out from the bag, and perhaps Ichigo would’ve smiled at how adorable it looked, had he not been so troubled.

”Shirosaki doesn’t seem to know what to do either, but we have to get him to let us in, otherwise we can’t fix this.”

”Fix Gwimmjow’s munchies problem?”

Ichigo actually manages to crack a smile to that one, but it vanishes quickly.

”Yes, his ’munchies problem’ is making us unable to reach home, which is kind of bad as we humans need food that doesn’t exist in Hueco Mundo.”

”Aww, Humans can’t feed on air like Nel does?”

”...I’m guessing you mean the spirit particles on the atmosphere. No, we can’t.”

”Aww, that’s too bad! Eating is fun here; all ya do is open your mouth wiiide and breathe in!”

The girl stands up and demonstrates, opening her tiny mouth as large as she could, inhaling deeply. The power behind that was surprisingly strong, as Ichigo noted his hair actually started to float towards her as if they were caught in a gust of wind.

”That is useful; while we do need air to live as well, human feeding isn’t that simple.”

Ichigo chuckles and ruffles her hair, like he’d do with his sisters.

Nelliel is taken aback by the gesture at first, but then decides she likes it, flashing a wide toothy grin at him.

Their chat is interrupted as the ground _shakes_ suddenly, and the duo nearly falls off the couch, looking around confused.

_”What the hell was that?”_

Ichigo asks as he helps Nelliel up.

Another quake hits them however, and Ichigo falls on his butt in surprise. The next second, he realizes he could sense something _highly_ powerful from somewhere.

It wasn’t Grimmjow, as this was coming from outside the palace and he could still sense the blunet inside of it.

Moments later, Pesche and Dondochakka appear, looking highly panicked.

 _”This is terrible!_ This cannot be happening!”

The insect-headed hollow panics, shaking the puzzled Shinigami, while Dondochakka runs around behind him in panic.

”What’s going on?”

Ichigo questions the two once Pesche let’s go of him. The place shakes again, and this time Ichigo could hear a very clear sound coming from outside; it almost sounded like an immensely loud howl.

”There seems to be a stray Menos Grande attacking the palace.”

Urahara comments, and everyone’s eyes snap at him instantly. The man just stood on the doorway, hiding his face with his fan as usual.

”Why would... I thought hollows avoided this place?”

”Most do seem to steer clear of this area, but those larger ones do not have the capacity to comprehend the potential dangers of coming here.” Pesche explains to him, and that brings a flashback in mind.

”Right... this happened before; Grimmjow showed me a memory where he took care of one once...”

Ichigo mutters out with a frown.

”It must’ve sensed that there is a collection of surprisingly powerful souls, hence it has wandered here looking for a meal. To my understanding most of the Menos tend to linger far from here and they don’t usually bother wandering all the way here.”

Urahara holds his chin thoughtfully, and his words seem to surprise the hollow trio, clearly having not expected a Shinigami of current times to have such intimate knowledge about their world. The sand blond haired man smiles sheepishly, rubbing his head with an awkward chuckle.

”I’ve always been curious about your world.”

Another rumbling quake hits the palace, and Ichigo has to dodge out of the way as a chunk of the ceiling nearly falls on him.

”Oh my, we should probably do something about that Menos.”

”What can we do? Only an Espada would be strong enough to take one out, and Nelliel-san is too weakened.” Pesche questions the shinigami, his voice colored with anxiety. Granted, he often sounded nervous, but this was worse than usual.

”Yes, this is a tricky situation; while we do have an Espada in hand, right now letting him out could be too dangerous.”

Ichigo had to agree with Urahara; Grimmjow’s hunger could become problematic; he could go and attack them after finishing off the Menos.

A howl echoes trough the air, making Pesche jump into his companion’s lap, and Nelliel’s eyes widen and start to tear up.

”Nel is scared! Nel dun wanna be eaten by the giant bully!”

Ichigo turns to look at Urahara questioningly.

”Can we take it out?”

The man remains quiet for a moment as he considers it.

”Potentially, yes. However, too much of your power is being blocked from you even now, and I don’t have the means nor time to try and undo the seal; besides, your training sword was broken.”

The ginger frowns as he recalls that detail; without his blade, or any blade for that matter, Ichigo couldn’t do much.

As the building begins to shake more violently, it was clear they didn’t have time to ponder on this; something had to be done before things really went downhill.

”Urahara, can _you_ deal with it?”

”I am afraid my battle capabilities do not quite match with this kind of opponent; I’d need more of my equipment to handle it.”

”Then what are we supposed to do?!”

 

 

_Ya could use his zanpakuto, Ichi._

 

 

The ginger had not heard from Shirosaki in such a long time that he nearly jumped upon hearing the familiar lilting voice echoing in his brain.

”Will that even work?”

 

_T’s an empty blade right now. Ya won’t be clashing wit the spirit, n’ it’s sturdy enough ta deal wit that big guy._

 

The group watches after Ichigo confused, as he sprints towards Grimmjow’s chambers.

 

 

The blunet was awake and clearly aware that something was off, as he turned to look at Ichigo with a questioning frown as he enters.

”Grimmjow, this is kind of sudden, but.... I need to borrow your zanpakuto.”

The blue eyes widen in shock, then he stands up abruptly, nearly snarling at Ichigo.

**_”Who the hell ya think you are?!”_ **

The _offended_ growl had an immense amount of that dominant weight on it, but Ichigo refused to let it affect him too much.

He was aware that this was likely a reflexive reaction.

”Grimm, you’ve let me use it before; maybe back then it wasn’t like you had much of a choice, but I NEED a weapon to take down that Menos outside the palace. Urahara doesn’t want to let you out because he worries you’ll attack us as well.”

Ichigo keeps his voice calm as he explains, and a moment later, another quake shakes the building, followed by a loud howl and a burst of spiritual energy. Grimmjow listens to it with a deep frown on his face, as he contemplates on Ichigo’s words.

”Come on. I know I have the tendency to break swords, but yours is _special_ , isn’t it?”

The ginger coaxes him, his heart beating rapidly in his chest; they didn’t have much time to argue about this. Grimmjow glances at his blade, clearly hesitant; his Espada-side found the thought of letting Kurosaki wield his blade now when he was capable of doing it himself **_insulting._**

He’d never even let _Kaien_ do it.

He’d shared his power with the man, he’d let him meet his zanpakuto spirit, but he’d _never_ let the bastard actually wield his weapon.

As a King of Hueco Mundo, allowing such a thing was just downright against some unwritten rule, namely because doing that was pretty much handing a part of your deepest essence to an outsider.

However, the situation was clearly **bad** , and he knew how terrible the ginger was when not having a blade to channel his power trough.

Grimmjow also could see why they _shouldn’t_ let him out yet.

While the incident with Shirosaki had shown he was slowly getting used to the feeling and thus able to control it better, an adrenaline rush could seriously fuck things up. Grimmjow unsheathes his weapon wordlessly, and slowly lifts his gaze towards Ichigo.

After a moment of hesitation, the ginger steps trough the barrier, noting that the blunet tensed as his scent filled the air in the barrier prison more thoroughly.

”I’ll let you borrow it, but only this _once._ Breakin’ this ain’t the same as breaking those damn pieces of shit you usually use.”

Grimmjow’s tone was heavily serious, and Ichigo nods, swallowing down nervously.

”Even if it ain’t got a spirit right now, this blade is made of m’ own essence. If you damage or destroy it, m’ gonna lose a huge chunk of my power, and it might do other damage as well.”

”But...if it is part of your soul, it should be more than sturdy enough, shouldn’t it.”

Ichigo smiles encouragingly, but Grimmjow’s expression doesn’t change.

”T’s only as strong as the wielder. Without a spirit, our Zanpakutos will naturally resonate with whoever is wielding ’em. At least, if given out _willingly_.”

Ichigo looks at him a bit curious now. Grimmjow just shakes his head and hands the blade over to the ginger.

Once his fingers leave the blade however, he grabs Ichigo’s throat all of a sudden, blue eyes glaring intently at him.

 **”I mean it, Kurosaki**. Yer holdin’ a piece of my _soul_ in yer hands. If you screw this up, there’s **no force in this goddamn universe** that will save you.”

His low growl was both a threat and a warning, and Ichigo nods nervously, even feeling Shirosaki let out an uneasy squeak within his brain.

Eventually, Grimmjow let’s him go, and as another quake shakes the palace, he quickly turns and heads out, holding the blue blade firmly in his hands.

He vowed in his mind to take much better care of this one than he normally would handle his weapons. Once Ichigo reaches the ledge of the front entrance terrace - or whatever he should call it - it was pretty clear the situation was dire; the giant hollow had already blasted trough a huge chunk of the palace’s lower levels on the eastern side, and if it kept that up, the entire building was in the risk of collapsing.

Ichigo tries to call back on how Grimmjow had defeated the thing; apparently destroying the mask worked on these big ones too. He also had an advantage as he was higher up, so he could attack the mask directly. The problem was that if he wasn’t careful, the thing could try and fry him with one of those enormous blasts.

They were so large it would be hard to dodge them.

”I should probably try and lure it away from the palace first.”

Ichigo concludes and jumps, channeling his power trough the blade.

It surprised him just _how much_ he could put into it; his practice swords would’ve began creaking at the seams already, but Grimmjow’s zanpakuto was perfectly fine.

He swings it, sending a slashing attack of his spiritual pressure towards the giant thing, hitting it right at the face.

Using the backlash and wind pressure from the attack, Ichigo uses it to send himself fly far over the giant thing, landing on the sand several hundred meters away. The hollow lets out a wailing howl as it stumbles back, slowly turning towards Ichigo. The mask was cracked, but there was no blood seeping trough the broken spots like there had been with Grimmjow.

He’d clearly not used enough power.

The hollow howls at him, though it was hard to say if there was any actual emotion behind it. It starts slowly lumbering towards him, giving Ichigo time to plan out his next move. These things were clearly very simple-minded, given how easily he’d distracted it away from the palace.

The problem was that reaching the mask was really hard for him, so trying to poke it with a blade wasn’t really an option; he’d have the use spiritual pressure.

Ichigo just didn’t know how much he could channel before it could become a problem.

 

_Dun worry Ichi. Grimmjow’s blade is really tough. You could easily channel five times as much energy as ya just did._

 

Shirosaki reassures him, though he sounded nervous, Grimmjow’s threat clearly echoing in his mind as well.

Ichigo frowns, then realizes something was hurling towards him. He jumps aside just as a giant...tongue? Crashes to the ground on the spot he’d been standing on.

_”What the heck?!”_

As the **giant** tongue darts up towards him again, Ichigo brings the blade up to block it, noting that the thing felt hard like a rock.

He swings his blade an manages to cut off the sharp tip from the thing, making the hollow howl in pain as the giant appendage retreats.

Landing on a large rock further back, Ichigo steadies himself, keeping his eyes on the big opponent. He’d initially thought it was just a slow, lumbering giant, but it clearly had tricks up its sleeve. His eyes widen in shock the next second, as the ginger watches the giant beast regenerate the tip of its tongue, darting it towards the shinigami again like some giant, pinkish rock-snake.

Ichigo dodges again, and the stone he’d been standing on gets completely destroyed.

 

_Woulda not wanna french kiss that one._

 

It was such an off-handed, weird comment that Ichigo couldn’t stop but snort at Shirosaki, while also agreeing.

”I’m pretty sure nothing is big enough to do such a thing with it.”

 

_Other menos?_

 

”They probably have other things in mind. Mainly food-related. They also have a terrible taste if this guy is willing to go after a human junk-food like me.”

As the tongue darts towards him again, Ichigo uses it as a pushing force to jump into the air and send a slashing attack towards the thing’s mask, making it shriek and stumble backwards as the orange glow hits the white mask.

Ichigo could hear a slight snicker inside his head, and he felt a slight boost in his energy all of a sudden: it seemed that having Shirosaki in a good mood helped him as well, making his attacks more powerful.

 

_Good thing their taste ain’t too fancy._

 

”Well it depends how you look at it.”

Ichigo comments with a triumphant smirk as he lands on his feet, noting that a bit of blood was starting to seep trough the cracks.

Just few more strikes and the thing should be done for, or it would back away from the scene, getting the hint.

At least hopefully.

Suddenly, the hollow lets out even louder howl, loud enough that the air pressure from it forces Ichigo to fly back several yards, colliding against another rock sticking out from the sand. He coughs as all air leaves his lungs and falls to the ground, seeing stars momentarily.

 

_Ichi, are you okay?!_

 

”y-yeah, that caught me off-guard...”

Ichigo coughs out some sand he’d swallowed, and looks up, seeing the big guy open its jaw wide, as a ball of red light appears between the large teeth. Shit, it was gonna fire a cero at him, and with how giant the thing was, the range would also be massive.

 

_Ichi switch places with me! I can get outta the way faster than ya!_

 

 

For once, the ginger doesn’t protest and allows Shirosaki to take over.

The pale figure quickly sprints across the desert, heading out of the blast’s range as fast as he could. Everything around him was illuminated by the red glow, almost like the place was bathing in blood and fire. The hollow fires its attack and Shirosaki speeds up, running for his - and Ichigo’s - life. The giant blast hits the ground and sends a large amount of sand and rock fly trough the air, the pressure wave throwing the pale figure amongst the chaotic mixture as well. Once the dust clears, Shirosaki looks around dazed, his eyes widening in shock as he sees the crater the blast created.

 

_To think Grimmjow was able to overpower that..._

 

”No shit Ichi. These guys were **monsters**.”

Shirosaki swallows down nervously as he gets up, then realizes for his shock that _he’d dropped_ Grimmjow’s zanpakuto.

The pale figure looks around for it, but everything was covered in dust. So focused on trying to find the blade, he doesn’t notice the tongue swinging at him, not until the rock-solid mass collides with his back and throws him off his feet, sending the white figure stumble down the dune.

He eventually stops moving, facing the dark night sky, and his head was spinning.

The tongue whips towards him again, and Shirosaki quickly stumbles out of the way, still searching for the zanpakuto.

He could not lose it, not now.

”Shit! If only tha’ thing had a spirit n’ it, I coulda sense it!”

The pale figure huffs out frustrated, then has to dodge another attack aimed at him by the giant snake-like appendage.

 

_Can’t you use any hollow tricks against it?_

 

”No! M’powers dun work without a blade either, Ichi!”

Shirosaki huffs at him frustrated, then quickly doves to the ground to avoid another strike.

”That thing is so yucky and annoying!”

He grumbles out, scanning his surroundings.

That’s when his golden eyes spot the blue hilt sticking out of the sand further away. Shirosaki sprints towards it, but then the Menos’ tongue lands on the very spot the blade had been in, and Shirosaki feels his heart sink, worrying that the impact had broken it.

Except, that’s when the hollow lets out another pained shriek as it pulls its tongue back, and Shirosaki notes the appendage was bleeding again.

He looks ahead and sees the blade still sticking out of the ground, completely unharmed, now covered in blood.

He dashes towards it and grabs the hilt, swinging around and instantly sending a streak of orange and red energy hurling towards the Menos, hitting it _square_ in the face again.

This time the long, sharp nose of the mask breaks off, and the cracks begin to bleed.

 

_Good! Maybe just one more hit and it’s done for!_

 

Unfortunately for them, the beast releases another, loud howl, and the pale figure is forced to stumble backwards again, eventually landing on the ground in a heap.

This time Shirosaki had held onto the blade tightly, so luckily by the time his head stopped spinning it was right beside him, but the bigger problem was the fact the thing was charging another cero at them.

”Shit!”

Shirosaki attempts to get up, but for his horror realizes that his leg was _stuck_ under a pile pf rubble from the pressure wave earlier.

He tries to push the stuff of him but it was rather heavy.

 

_Shirosaki, we gotta get outta here!_

 

”I know Ichi, m’ stuck!”

The pale figure informs him in panic, looking up towards the red glow looming over them. He tries to tug his leg off again, even using Grimmjow’s blade to try and leverage them off, but only manages to cut himself.

Shirosaki huffs out, leaning against the hilt of the blue blade, feeling tears of frustration fill his eyes.

 

**_Why was he so weak?_ **

 

”M’sorry Ichi...”

 

_Hey, don’t give up now! We can still..._

 

 

His voice is cut off by the loud roar of the released attack, slowly hurling towards them.

The pale figure closes his eyes, not wanting to see the death as it was coming.

He was so pathetic, so weak, not even able to protect Ichigo.

 

 

_You are not weak, child. Your power is simply too restrained._

 

 

”Who’s that?”

 

Golden eyes open wide, but all he saw was the ominous red glow surrounding him.

 

 

_Don’t be afraid. He’s coming for you._

 

 

Suddenly, something appears between him and the impending red ball of doom, and a loud, familiar roar breaks the air as something bright and blue literally  _tears_ the cero to pieces.

Shirosaki watches in awe as five, blue glowing slashes fly towards the Menos, piercing it’s body clean trough from five different places, including the mask.

Tons of blood gush out from each wound, and a second later the energy attacks dissipate with an explosive force, making the creature let out the most terrifying, primal cry of pain before everything falls silent.

All that was left from it once everything settles down, was the black robe-like material, and that too was slowly disappearing into ashes.

Shirosaki looks up at his savior wide-eyed, quickly recognizing the blunet.

How had he escaped Urahara’s barrier?

What’s more, the aura he was emanating now was far beyond anything Shirosaki or Ichigo had ever sensed before.

It was beyond any kind of anger or fury he’d portrayed before, and the aura around him was so tense it almost looked like he was burning with blue flames.

His body was clearly radiating _heat_ like a furnace, as the spot on the rocks where he stood began to **melt** and turn into glass.

Shirosaki felt immense fear grasp his heart, but before he could sink back and let Ichigo take over again, and the blunet whips around to stare down at him.

He was in his human form, though his eyes were no longer clouded with badly restrained hunger.

They **burned** intensely, the normal sky blue color intensified to a _ten._

The pale figure quickly realizes he was still touching the blade, and pulls his hand back as if he was burned.

Grimmjow had given permission to _Ichigo,_ not him.

No wonder he was looking down at Shirosaki with such an offended, angry look.

Grimmjow jumps down and grasps the slabs pinning Shirosaki down, throwing them off him like they were made of leaves. The pale figure just watches frozen, as the blunet yanks his sword off the ground, glaring towards the direction of the Menos for a moment, before sheathing his zanpakuto.

”S-sorry, I...Ichi needed me ta come out, he woulda not have made it out of the way...”

Grimmjow snarls at him, shutting the pale figure up efficiently.

Shirosaki could feel Ichigo ask him to let him out so he could talk to the man, but he was unable to do so.

Grimmjow’s willpower was forcing him to stay out right now, and apparently Ichigo wasn’t quite strong enough to relinquish the hold.

”Why’d ya waste time messing with it?”

Grimmjow demands, glaring down at Shirosaki, who curls up defensively.

”I wasn’t! I only needed one more hit...”

” ** _You almost died_** , and destroyed my zanpakuto! Don’t give me excuses, Shirosaki!”

The growl was laced with the authority of a King, and the pale figure casts his gaze downwards, feeling his shame strengthen.

 

 

”That’s not fair.”

 

 

Grimmjow blinks, and Shirosaki abruptly realizes those words had come out of his mouth, except they _weren’t_ spoken by him.

He feels himself being pushed back as Ichigo regains control of his body, despite the authoritarian weight pressing on his mind.

”Shirosaki was doing his best! He just got caught off-guard, that’s all!”

Ichigo scowls at the blunet, who was still seething with anger.

”In a battle ya gotta be fuckin’ prepared for _anything!_ He clearly rushed ta aid ya without knowing jack-shit of what he was doing!”

”I would’ve died if he hadn’t given me a boost to run away from that initial cero!”

”Then why the FUCK didn’t you two switch back afterwards?!”

It was kind of amazing to watch; two souls, both burning intensely with the heat of the moment, and Shirosaki was once again reminded why he loved his Ichi so much. The ginger was strong-willed and stubborn if needed, and he did not let Grimmjow’s anger bother him.

”I figured Shirosaki knew what he was doing!”

”He’s a bloody NEWBORN Kurosaki! _Of course he doesn’t!_ He might seem like he knows, but he’s got ZERO true experience in battle! Anything he can do is _instinctive,_ and ya can’t win a fight with just that!”

That shut Ichigo up, and for a moment the two just glare at each other.

”Why are you so angry at him? _I’m_ the one who rushed into the battle, and I sure as hell don’t have experience battling Menos either.”

Ichigo finally points out, and the blue eyes narrow, as Grimmjow clearly didn’t like the question.

Before he could answer anything however, the blunet realizes his vision was growing blurry, and he grasps his head, falling to the sand with a groan. He’d used up way too much energy to be safe for this state.

Resisting his hunger symptoms had taken a toll on him both mind and body, and now letting his anger get the better of him was clearly taking it’s price.

”Grimmjow!”

The blunet only manages to hiss at Kurosaki, before his vision grows black.

 

 

 

 

The ginger gently rests the man back against the mattress.

The room was a mess after the barrier had apparently exploded or otherwise explosively shattered. Apparently Grimmjow’s spiritual pressure had spiked so much that Urahara’s barrier couldn’t handle it, so it was destroyed completely.

”That was reckless of him, using such a powerful attack in such a state.” Pesche tsks, crossing his arms with a concerned frown.

”What was that? It didn’t look like a cero...”

”It is called _Desgarron_. Out of all of his spiritual abilities, that one is the strongest.”

pesche explains, then his frown deepens.

”It’s such an _overkill_  move to use that overpowered attack against a mere Menos. He must've really gotten furious to go that far.”

Ichigo swallows down nervously as he looks back at the unconscious blunet. He could still recall the power emanating from that attack; it had been _miles_ apart from the cero the hollow had fired, let alone the Cero Grimmjow had used in the flashback.

Once again, he finds himself wondering; HOW the hell did Aizen take out these guys, if all of them were as powerful as Grimmjow?

”Shirosaki is right; these Espada were monstrously powerful...”

”To be fair, Kurosaki-san, we humans used to have stronger spiritual abilities as well.”

Ichigo had nothing to comment to that, as he didn’t know if it was true or not.

”What should we do nooow?” Dondochakka asks unsure, and everybody turns to look at Urahara.

Despite having just met, it seemed that the three hollows had also come to the conclusion that the sandal-hat was the plan-former.

”For now, we must wait until he wakes up, and go from there. That blast really wasted a lot of his power, and who knows how it’ll affect his hunger symptoms.”

Ichigo sighs, figuring they had no choice.

 

 

The brown eyes kept gazing at the blunet in the darkness.

Ichigo had chosen to stay with Grimmjow this time, opting to rest on the stony bed-frame this time. It was still uncomfortable without a mattress, but much wider than the damn couch.

He’d just felt... _weird_ about laying there before, given it was Grimmjow’s bed, and all the innuendo one could make from that, but it was a safer option in case he had to flee, as it was closer to the door and Grimmjow wasn’t directly on his path.

The blunet had not moved a muscle since he fell unconscious, and only the raising and falling of his chest indicated the man was alive.

Ichigo sighs and flops on his back. He felt a little dizzy, as doing that fight when he hadn’t eaten in days did naturally take a toll on him, even if it was probably much better than it should have been, thanks to Shirosaki.

Talking about him, the pale figure had sank into the deeper recess of his mind again, clearly shaken by Grimmjow’s outburst earlier.

It had been uncalled for, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but frown displeased.

It was honestly a good thing Grimmjow passed out, as the argument would have likely continued and perhaps even ended in violence given the blunet’s current volatile state.

As Ichigo shifts to rest on his side again, he notes that the dizzy spells were getting stronger.

He should probably rest for a bit.

 

 

Shirosaki opened his eyes, gazing at the ceiling.

Ichigo had fallen asleep, and given his exhausted state, he’d figured it would be the best if he meditated for a bit again.

Ichi needed to get some food soon, and while the sandal-hat was not showing any signs yet, Shirosaki could bet his stomach was rumbling like crazy as well. He closes his eyes and lets the energy flow into his body again, slowly converting it to the kind of essence Ichi’s body could use.

It was kind of a relaxing thing to do, and he sort of enjoyed it.

The only thing making it a bit nerve-wrecking was the fact he’d be rendered vulnerable during it, as he had to focus to transform the energy. Taking it as it was was passive, but to make the spiritual essence useful in a way that Ichi required... that was complicated.

Just as he was about to finish for now, something shifted in the room, and the next thing he knew, something was hovering over him, something _familiar_ and _powerful._

Shirosaki freezes, a slight whimper escaping his throat, but before he could even open his eyes, something warm presses against his hair, and he could feel Grimmjow’s breath tickle his scalp.

The aura surrounding him was slightly different from before.

The hunger was still there but it felt kind of _sedated._

The man shifts, trailing down alongside Shirosaki’s jaw, his breath brushing hot over the pale figure’s neck.

_”Fuck, ya smell s’ good...”_

the blunet mutters against his skin now, and the pale figure feels a shudder run down his spine as those lips brush against his suddenly hyper sensitive skin.

He attempts to say something, or do something, but the blunet’s aura had already coated him, making him unable to do much.

Luckily for Shirosaki though, the man seemed to not be eager on devouring him at the moment, as after breathing in his scent for a few more moments, Grimmjow pulls back a bit.

_"Don't...fuckin' freak me out like that ever again, both of ya..."_

Grimmjow's voice was almost soft now, something Shirosaki had never heard before.

He manages to open his eyes to take a peek at Grimmjow, and for his horror, notes his eyes were _completely_ black-and-gold.

However, his expression was kind of glazed, almost if he was sleepwalking.

Now that Shirosaki examined the aura around him, he quickly realized Grimmjow indeed wasn’t fully conscious in all likeness.

He’d just been lured closer to the tempting scent in his half-awoken state.

Shirosaki watches as the man slumps back to the mattress, knocked out cold almost immediately.

After a while, he turns his gaze towards the ceiling again with a sigh.

As he slips into the depths of their mind, a voice calls out to him again. It was the same voice he’d heard earlier, a deep, female voice.

 

 

_Child, I need your help._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were several ways on how this chapter could've gone.  
> I chose this one.  
> Bleh  
> I should go to bed.


	25. Soul searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and Shiro meet someone thought to be lost

_Ichi, Ichi! Wake up!_

 

The ginger frowns and shifts in his sleep, hearing that familiar voice call out to him frantic.

As his brown eyes open, Ichigo finds himself in his inner world, with Shirosaki crouched over him, grasping his shoulders.

_”Oh finally! I need ya to get up an’ see this!”_

”What’s...going on?”

Shirosaki doesn’t explain, just tugs him off the ground and drags him trough the empty streets. Ichigo couldn’t stop but note that something felt off about the atmosphere surrounding them, he just wasn’t quite sure what it was.

_”Urahara was **right!**  ’Bout Grimmjow’s zanpakuto spirit!”_

Shirosaki sounded both excited and kind of stunned, and Ichigo’s brain was still hazy from sleep as it was kind of hard to process his twin’s words. Upon realizing how foggy the ginger’s mind still was, Shirosaki grabs his shoulders and shakes him firmly, until Ichigo tells him to stop with an annoyed groan.

_”Ya clear now?”_

”I...yeah. What’s this about?”

Shirosaki just points somewhere, and Ichigo follows his finger with his gaze, up until he spots what his pale twin was so excited over.

A large, white  _panther_  with intensely blue eyes was slowly walking towards them.

Ichigo reflexively reaches for his sword, but Shirosaki places a hand over his, telling him it was okay.

 

**_”Greetings, Kurosaki Ichigo.”_ **

 

The ginger almost jumps upon hearing that voice leave the panther’s throat, and he stares at it - her? - in slight shock.

”What...what the... _who are you?”_

The panther tilts her head to the side slightly, tail moving around lazily behind the large frame.

 

**_”You know who I am already, boy.”_ **

 

After a moment of long silence, Ichigo’s eyes widen, as realization dawned on him. As if in trance, he reaches a hand out too touch the white fur, but stops himself before he could, worrying it might have been inappropriate to do so. For his surprise, the panther moves closer and presses her forehead against Ichigo’s palm, allowing the ginger to rub her fur with a slight, low purr emanating from the panther’s throat.

”You’re... I can’t  _believe_  it. Urahara  _was_  right.”

Ichigo gasps with an amazed smile creeping up his face, as he mingles his fingers into the soft fur on her neck now.

 

**_”Yes, your peculiar Shinigami mentor is wiser than he might appear.”_ **

 

The panther chuckles, nudging Shirosaki with her head to get the pale figure pet her as well.

_”Ichi, this is Pantera. She spoke ta me before Grimmjow appeared ta save our asses.”_

Shirosaki explains with a wide smile, scratching her fur.

”I know who she is, I just...”

He turns to look at the large feline with a questioning look, and she seemed to understand what he wished to ask.

 

**_”Thanks to you using his blade with blessing, I was able to transfer a bit of myself into your mind.”_ **

 

”But why? Where have you been all this time? Grimmjow thought you were  _dead._ ”

The panther lets out a sigh and slips down to rest on the ground, resting her head on top of her large front paws. Following the example, the two sit down as well, with Shirosaki leaning against her furry side, borderline snuggling into it. The zanpakuto spirit didn’t seem to mind, as she just wraps her tail around Shirosaki, while keeping her gaze at Ichigo, who’s knelt down in front of her.

 

 ** _”I’ve tried to reach my master, but he cannot hear me. He won’t_** _let_   ** _himself hear me.”_**

 

”Why not? What do you mean?”

Ichigo asks with a confused frown. Pantera sighs again and lifts her head a bit to glance at Shirosaki, who was still cuddling against her.

 

**_”Your Instinct is rather youthful.”_ **

 

Pantera comments with amusement coloring her tone.

Ichigo had  _no clue_  what that meant.

The blue eyes turn back at him, and the amusement from her voice disappears with her next words.

 

**_”Grimmjow has been overtaken by his guilt over all those people he learned to care for dying for him. His Fraccion sought to fight against that man to protect him, they tried to warn him to not come back home, but they did not make it. That Shinigami went after Sousuke Aizen wanting justice for the perceived death of his dear companion, and later sacrificed his soul to bring him back.”_ **

 

”How does any of that relate with him not being able to hear you?”

 

**_”In his subconscious mind, Grimmjow has begun to think he doesn’t deserve to have his Reason accompany him.”_ **

 

Ichigo tilts his head confused, and the panther hums, now sounding amused again.

 

**_”I suppose you do not know of the complicated nature of a hollow’s soul?”_ **

 

Ichigo shakes his head unsure.

Probably he didn’t.

The panther brings out one of her claws and starts scratching onto the asphalt below them.

 

**_”A_ human _soul is usually one being, one complete essence; your sanity, insanity, reason and instinct, all of it is packaged inside a single vessel.”_**

She scratches out a circle to demonstrate her point.

 

 ** _”Hollows however; a hollow’s soul is split into three parts._** The Master, ** _which is the man you know in the waking world,_** the Reason ** _, which often becomes the zanpakuto spirit of a powerful hollow - in other words, myself - and_** Instinct. ** _”_**

 

Pantera scratches a triangle next to the circle, splitting it into three parts.

 

**_”The Master tends to sway between listening to their Reason, or their Instinct. Most lean more towards one over the other though. Nelliel Tu Oderschvank was more in sync with her Reason. However, due to her injury, her Instinct is now a bit more dominant.”_ **

 

Ichigo listens closely, a little awed about learning these details; he’d never even _thought_  a soul could be split into different parts like this.

 

**_”In the end, the Master’s nature effects on what kind his or her two parts are. Somebody who is naturally calmer, their Instinctive side tends to be more passive. Those who are more temperamental, theirs is powerful and aggressive.”_ **

 

She pauses and looks up at Ichigo to see if he was following. The brunet just nods, listening keenly now; he had a feeling he was learning about something highly important.

 

**_”Right now, Grimmjow is letting his Instinct control a lot of things, instead of controlling_ it  _like he should. That is why he is having all of these symptoms. It needs to stop.”_**

 

”I know that part; I just... our idea was to go look into his soul and maybe try and find... well,  _you_ , so maybe you could help fix the situation...”

It was clear that plan had to be re-thought now that Pantera had found _them_  instead.

 

**_”Oh, I can. But I need your help; I need you to help my voice reach him again.”_ **

 

”How do I do it though? He is not listening to me either...”

Pantera remains quiet for a moment, closing her eyes as she seems to contemplate on his words. Shirosaki peeks his head up from the white fur, and while he seemed comfy, it was clear he’d been listening to the conversation as his face was in a deep, troubled frown.

 

**_”You must traverse into his mind-scape, his true mind-scape that is. He cannot ignore you anymore once you go that far.”_ **

 

_”Wait, but won't that mean Ichi might run into tha' crazy version of 'im, that's makin' Grimm go all hungry n' spazz out?”_

Shirosaki asks, sounding more than a bit anxious about the idea.

Pantera tilts her head to look at Shirosaki now, her tail still wrapped around the pale figure.

 

**_”I understand your anxiety, young Instinct. You if anyone should know how dangerous your kind are, especially the aggressive ones like my companion.”_ **

 

”Wait..what? What do you mean  _Instinct?_  Isn't Shirosaki just a manifestation of my hollow blood?”

Ichigo joins in, but Pantera shakes her head, telling the ginger it was not important right now. The ginger felt miffed about his desire for knowledge being slighted again, but he knew they really had to solve this problem before Grimmjow's state could really fuck things up. He'd get his answers eventually, the ginger just had to be patient just a little longer.

 

**_”We must make haste and bring you to his mind-scape quickly, before my companion does damage that cannot be undone.”_ **

 

”How do I do that? How can you be so  _sure_  he'll listen to me if I go there? If he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to...”

Pantera’s eyes flash, and for a second it almost felt like he was actually looking at Grimmjow, and not a giant female cat. The mischievous amusement in her eyes was similar to Grimmjow’s.

 

**_”He wants to, boy. He just needs a reason to stop making excuses for himself, and you facing him at his most vulnerable will force him to discuss and hear what you have to say."_ **

 

Ichigo wasn’t quite sure on how to respond to that, so he remained quiet, shrugging uncertain.

 

_”But...Won't Grimm get pissy 'bout that? He don't seem like the kinda person who likes people ta see his weak side...”_

 

Pantera turns to look at Shirosaki.

 

**_”Your master is special; he has already seen my master in his weakest state, and has not judged him for it.”_ **

 

Ichigo could see Shirosaki still wasn't convinced, but chose not to argue with the giant, white fluffball he was cuddling.

_"Yeah, I know Ichi is special...that's why Grimm prefers him over me. M' weak n' inexperienced when compared to 'im."_

That mutter was very soft and quiet, but Ichigo hears it regardless, he frowns, about to dispute Shirosaki's ridiculous claim, wanting to point out Shirosaki had in fact been of great help so far, but Pantera beats him to it.

**_”You are right in a sense, where you see you and your master as unequals. We’re not_ supposed _to lead, our task is to_ guide _our master. That does not mean that the person your master cares for does not care about you. That is an oxymoron, for you ARE part of Ichigo Kurosaki’s soul. It would not make sense for somebody to only care a part of somebody, and not all bits of their soul.”_**

 

”Humans are quite capable of caring about someone only to a certain level.”

Ichigo points out dryly, gaining an amused chuckle from Pantera, who turns her head to look back at Ichigo.

**_”That is when the connection is dishonest; I can assure you Kurosaki Ichigo, my Master would not have let you hold his zanpakuto, to wield it, had he not formed a bond with you that is genuine. He also wasn't angry at you for touching his blade, child.”_ **

Pantera turns her gaze back at Shirosaki upon uttering out the last part of her sentence, and she slowly removes her tail from around Shirosaki, though brushes it gently against his cheek.

 

**_"He was furious with you, because he saw your actions as reckless, and was highly frightened of the prospect that you both almost perished had he not interfered. Grimmjow understands that you do not have all you need in your possession to fully support your master the way I and my companion do, when we are in balance. He does not want you to charge in the battlefield the way you did, not until you truly have what it takes to deal with such a situation."_ **

 

Shirosaki's eyes widen a bit upon hearing that.

When Pantera put it like that... it did sound like Grimmjow cared for Shirosaki too, not just Ichigo, and not only because he was a part of Ichigo.

Then again, if Shirosaki was part of Ichigo's soul, it was as Pantera said; having Grimmjow  _not_  care about Shirosaki but care for Ichigo would've not made any sense.

 

**_”But we’ve been doing enough chit chatting; time is running out, and I need to reach Grimmjow before his state does something irredeemable.”You must go and talk to your Shinigami companion, Kurosaki Ichigo, so you can begin your journey to the astral plane."_ **

 

Pantera’s voice had gone back to serious again, and she gets up and paces back towards the direction she’d come from.

”But how are we supposed to enter his mind, when he won’t let us? I thought we need permission to do that.”

Ichigo calls out after the panther, who stops and looks at them over her shoulder.

 

**_”He’s already given permission. He just doesn’t know it yet.”_ **

 

 

 

When Ichigo woke up, Grimmjow was still out cold.

He brushes his neck instinctively, then gets up quietly and walks closer to the blunet, wondering about Pantera’s words. What did she mean when she said he’d given permission already?

Last time the ginger had checked, he’d been adamant on keeping him out.

Another thing....

”Kurosaki-san.”

Ichigo turns to look at Urahara, who was standing on the doorway. He gestures the ginger to leave the room and follow him.

”Any luck with your device?”

”Perhaps; I  _have_  been able to detect a weak spot in the canvas separating our two dimensions. I might be able to open a portal for us soon at this rate.”

Urahara glances at him from behind his fan.

”That does not solve the problem we’d be leaving here.”

Ichigo shakes his head firmly; he didn’t even want to do that. He was  **not**  going to walk away and leave this mess behind even if Urahara did manage to open a door back home.

”I....we might be able to do something about it.”

The man stops and turns to examine Ichigo curiously, who sucks in a deep breath and explains everything to Urahara, what had visited his mind and what it had told him. His companion listens closely, clear curiosity and interest in his eyes. Once Ichigo finishes his story, Urahara remains quiet for a long time, holding his chin thoughtfully. Ichigo could now note the bags under his eyes; while the man was good at hiding it, it was clear lack of food and such was taking a toll on him too, and the ginger knew from experience the man had likely been working on a way out trough day and night.

His stamina was incredible, but even **Urahara** had his limits.

”I see, this  _definitely_  makes things easier; instead of performing a complex spell to dive deep into his psyche, his Zanpakuto spirit can allow you the access to his mind-scape directly where all these soul-pieces likely reside in.”

Wait...

Was  _that_  what Pantera had meant?

That because SHE had given permission, Ichigo could now enter?

And why the hell did Urahara seem to know like he'd already known about this whole split-hollow-soul deal long before Ichigo told him about it? Was the man actually learning anything new or just confirming his earlier observations?

Ah, what the hell, right now it didn't matter.

”How do we...should we wait till he wakes up?”

For Ichigo’s surprise, Urahara shakes his head.

”It might be...safer to do this when he is still asleep; even when Pantera-san has given you a permission to go with her, Jeagerjaquez ultimately decides. If he wishes to throw you out, he likely still can regardless of her opinion.”

The ginger nods after a moment of hesitation.

”How do we do this?”

 

 

The trio of hollows watched curiously as the sand blond haired Shinigami prepared a spell. Ichigo was sitting in the middle of a glowing circle with symbols the hollows did not recognize. They had opted to perform the spell in the throne room, as if Grimmjow would snap awake and be in a beastly mode, Ichigo would not immediately be in the line of fire, as once he’d be forced out, he would be dazed for a while.

Shirosaki did offer to take care of Ichigo’s body while he was there, but given his reactions towards the blunet, they’d decided to take an extra precaution.

”Remember Ichigo; be extremely careful once you are in there; this spell has not been used with a hollow’s mind before, and the fact their souls split into three might have some unexpected consequences.”

Urahara warns the ginger, who just swallows down nervously and nods.

He takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes as Urahara finishes writing the symbols around him.

”Focus on that connection you two have; it should guide you where you need to go once you reach the astral plane.”

Ichigo just nods, still keeping his eyes closed. Urahara begins casting the spell, his voice quickly droning out as the sounds Ichigo’s breathing and heartbeat overpower everything else. He suddenly felt like he was falling, and everything around him shifted as if he was thrown around in a wind.

Once he opens his eyes, Ichigo finds himself in a familiar location; silky strands all around him, each representing a soul.

Glancing aside, he spots a bluish-green one that was crumpled and had cuts in it; Nelliel.

A purple and orange ones were nearby her, probably belonging to Pesche and Dondochakka.

He turns his attention away from them and searches for the familiar blue one, only to realize that it was right in front of him.

What’s more, the bluish robe was mingled together with a golden-orange strand that Ichigo knew to be his. It looked like they were bleeding color to one another as well, as the end of Ichigo’s rope had a bit of blue in it, and vise-versa.

”Is this what a soul resonance looks like in astral plane, huh?”

Ichigo mumbles out curiously, brushing the knot with his fingers. It sent a light shock trough his system, though it wasn’t particularly unpleasant.

”Alright, I guess I should...”

 

**_”Wait, child.”_ **

 

Ichigo looks around, then spots a white panther in the distance.

He turns towards the panther slowly walking towards him.

 

**_”You cannot enter trough there. That is simply a mind-link. You need to traverse into his soul.”_ **

 

Ichigo blinks confused; he had thought this was the representation of Grimmjow’s soul.

Pantera shakes her head with a slight chuckle, nudging the blue strand with her nose.

 

**_”It seems your Shinigami mentor does not quite have all the pieces of the puzzle after all; these silk ropes you see are simply manifestations of one’s_ mind _; to reach an actual_ soul _, you must go deeper into the astral plane.”_**

 

”So, how do I...?”

The panther turns and starts walking into the darkness.

 

**_”Follow me.”_ **

 

Ichigo glances at the blue silk strand one last time, then nods and follows the panther, away from the floaty ropes. Slowly everything turns completely dark around them, until Pantera stops all of a sudden, looking ahead. Ichigo soon realizes what she was looking at; despite everything being pitch black, Ichigo could still make out the sheer drop ahead of them.

A ledge that fell into a deep abyss.

 

**_”That is the entrance to a deeper level of the astral plane. It is dangerous for anyone to head there and not know exactly where they are going.”_ **

 

Pantera explains, turning her head to look at Ichigo, who swallows down nervously.

”How do I...”

The panther nudges his hand with her nose, and a moment later, his orange strand appears around his wrist. Instead of reaching back towards where they’d come from however, the glowing rope reaches ahead and down, towards the abyss.

 

**_”Let your resonance guide you; it is rare for somebody to enter and already have a guiding light with them. Most first need to search for it within the darkness below.”_ **

 

As Ichigo looks back at her again surprised, he notices that there was a similar, blue line of energy leaving from her body like a long, stretched out flame, and it also reached down to the hole ahead.

 

**_”Don’t be afraid; fear may lead you down to an incorrect path.”_ **

 

With that, the giant feline suddenly leaps, and Ichigo watches in shock as she disappears into the darkness below, vanishing out of sight withing seconds. He glances at the thing on his wrist, gulping down nervously.

”Alright. I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

Ichigo sucks in a deep breath, and _jumps._

It felt like he’d been falling forever.

It was like diving down trough an eye of a storm, the edges wanting to rip him away from his path, but Ichigo focused on the glowing strand extending from his wrist, letting it pull him towards whatever it was leading him to. Suddenly, he could see light up ahead. Within seconds, it engulfs him and Ichigo brings his arms up to cover himself from the blinding light.

His form felt like it was burning, and the ginger could’ve  _sworn_  he felt like something left his body, as if part of his mind or soul had been torn off.

There was a sound, a scream or a yell perhaps, but he couldn’t make out the words.

The light turns blue, flashing brighter for a second, then disappears.

 

 

His eyes snap open.

He was lying on the sand.

Ichigo sits up slowly and looks around.

His surroundings were...strange. It looked like the sands of Hueco Mundo, but everything was _flat._

There were no dunes, no rocky mountains, nothing. Just endless plain of sand, with few leafless, ivory-like trees poking out of the ground here and there.

The sky was different too; instead of the dark, cold and greenish night-sky the place usually had, the sky above him had a bluish tint to it and had much more stars than the skies of Hueco Mundo.

”Is this...”

A groan from nearby catches his attention, and as Ichigo turns to look towards it, his eyes widen in surprise.

He just stares at the pale figure, who scrambles off the ground, rubbing his head.

_”Oww...what the heck...”_

Shirosaki’s eyes widen as he sees Ichigo, and for a moment they both just stare at each other.

”Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to look after my body!”

_”I was! Suddenly somethin’ tugged me n’ everything went black!”_

Shirosaki protests defensively, and Ichigo shakes his head, rubbing his eyes. Urahara did warn there might be some unexpected consequences, but he had not expected  _Shirosaki_  to be pulled in  **with**  him.

_”Where ta heck are we, Ichi?”_

The pale figure asks as they look around the strangely flat landscape.

”I’m guessing this is Grimmjow’s mind-scape.”

_”Wasn’t it usually the palace?”_

”I’m guessing that was more of a manifestation for the dimension within the zanpakuto where his soul was stuck in... or something.”

Shirosaki hums, holding his chin thoughtfully, then shrugs, kicking the sand a bit.

_”So, what are we gonna do now?”_

”I guess...”

The ginger looks around, but saw absolutely nothing.

”I guess we just... walk and try to find something.”

Shirosaki makes a displeased sound, but it wasn’t like they had a choice; Pantera was nowhere to be seen right now to guide them.

So, the two settle in on walking in the endless desert, trying to spot something of significance. It didn’t take long for Shirosaki to grow bored, and he kicks the nearest tree they pass by, stretching and grumbling under his breath.

”Don’t go doing that at random; we don’t know what might happen.”

Ichigo scolds his twin, noting that the strange tree was still shaking lightly, as if it was vibrating thanks to Shirosaki’s kick.

_”Please Ichi, it’s just a dumb tree. It’s not like there’s anythin’ else here ta do.”_

The white figure snorts and kicks another one, much to Ichigo’s frustration.

”Shirosaki, I’m serious; this isn’t _our_  mind. Anything could happen.”

The white figure grumbles again, but stops assaulting the poor trees - at least Ichigo assumed they were trees and not some really weird looking skeletons - focusing on kicking the sand instead.

_”Ya’d think that somebody as feisty as Grimm woulda have more exciting soul.”_

Ichigo... had to agree.

Everything was just a tad too serene right now, and if he focused, he could feel this kind of... sleepy undertone to the atmosphere.

”Maybe it’s like this because Grimmjow is asleep.”

Ichigo concludes, and it did make sense.

 

After walking for what felt like several hours, something finally changed in the landscape. There was a thick looking forest ahead, made from those same, bony looking trees.

_”What’s that?”_

Shirosaki asks curiously, and the two rush closer to the spot. It soon becomes clear that these trees were not only tightly packed - they were enormous when compared to the ones littered around the desert. Shirosaki looks up with a whistle; these trees were at least as tall as the buildings in Ichigo’s mind-scape. They were also so close together, that it was hard to see any way to enter into this strange forest.

”This is...”

A noise catches their attention and the two turn towards the sound just as something big heads their way.

The two dodge out of the way as a  **giant**  Menos tongue strikes the ground on where they’d stood.

_”What the hell?! Why’s there one of those things too?!”_

Shirosaki shrieks out, and Ichigo reaches for his blade, ready for battle.

However, as the giant creature pulls it’s tongue back, it dissolves into the sand, as if it had been a mirage.

The two just stare at the sight in confusion, not having a clue as to what just happened.

A second later, another giant Menos is formed from the sand, and it attacks them, forcing the two back and away from the forest.

_”This is **really**  fuckin’ weird.”_

Ichigo had to agree with Shirosaki.

As more of those things manifest, it suddenly becomes clear what they were doing; the giant monsters were  _guarding_  the forest, clearly not wanting them to go in there.

_”So there’s somethin’ juicy in there huh?”_

Shirosaki comments with slight excitement in his voice.

”While that choice of words may not be the best, I agree with you.”

_”Shoulda we split up? One distracts them while other tries ta find a way in.”_

Ichigo examines the large group of Menos blocking their path, and figures they could try Shirosaki’s idea.

_”Alrighty then, I’ll handle it!”_

Before Ichigo could even utter out a word, Shirosaki draws out his blade - Ichigo notes that while it looked similar to the one the hollow had shown him, its blade was white and not black - and attacks the nearest two, pretty much cutting them in half.

No blood seeps out, the two just turn into giant piles of sand and dissolve, while the rest throw their tongues after Shirosaki, who dodges the attacks with a grin on his face.

It was... kind of nice to see the pale figure a bit more confident again, though Ichigo wasn't exactly sure why it was happening right now. Perhaps this place’s atmosphere had an effect on Shirosaki.

As the pale figure draws the sand-guardians’ attention to himself, Ichigo attempts to sneak in from the side.

The branches and trunks of these trees were really tightly packed, and the ginger couldn’t exactly see a hole he could fit trough.

”I guess I might have to carve a way in.”

He huffs and pulls out his sword.

Except, that’s when the ground below him begins to raise, and Ichigo jumps off just as another giant hollow forms right in front of him, forcing the ginger to back away so he wouldn’t be crushed by the giant, heavy tongue.

”They  _really_  don’t want us in there.”

Ichigo mumbles out, noting that after the initial attack, the sand creature doesn’t follow him.

These things clearly were not meant to kill the intruders, simply keep them from entering.

A manic cackle catches his attention, and Ichigo turns to look towards Shirosaki, who was cutting through the monsters like a whirlwind of blades. He was clearly having fun, but something about it... _unnerved_  Ichigo.

The laugh that echoed in the air did not sound like Shirosaki’s usual lilting snickers.

It had an unstable quality to it, and as he keeps watching, Ichigo abruptly realizes that Shirosaki was  _morphing;_  the horns his mask had started appearing into his head and his hair grew longer and wilder the longer he fought.

Then, one of the sand guardians manages to smack him with its tongue, sending Shirosaki fly towards Ichigo, crashing to the sand just few yards away. Ichigo rushes to his pale twin, but stops on his tracks as Shirosaki jumps up, a very wide and unnerving grin on his face.

**_”This is fun!”_ **

He cackles out, his hair dancing in an imaginary breeze, and the aura around him had begun to change color; instead of the white glow, it began to morph into deep red, and it did not feel pleasant.

”Shirosaki, what’s...”

The white figure lets out a loud battle cry and jumps to attack the sandy things again, seemingly not able to hear Ichigo.

The only reason this didn’t look as disturbing as it probably should have, was the fact those things were made of  _sand_  and not flesh and blood.

Something was clearly wrong; Ichigo had never sensed such strong waves of battle-thirst emanate from him.

The longer he watched, the heavier Shirosaki’s aura became, until he was a white figure enveloped in a demonic, blood red glow.

”Shirosaki! _Stop!_  This isn’t going anywhere!”

Ichigo yells at him, and the gold and black eyes turn towards him sharply, the glare in them surprising Ichigo.

The next thing he knew, Shirosaki lets out a  ** _loud,_**  hollow-like scream that destroys all of the sand monsters, exploding them into a hailstorm of tiny rock fragments.

The pressure wave sends Ichigo stumble back several feet as well, rolling in the sand until he stops and sits up, looking around wildly.

Shirosaki was now on the ground, breathing harshly, and it seemed like he was struggling with something, as the pale figure clutches his head and lets out a few animalistic groans. His mask slowly began to manifest on his face, except this time it was more than that; he grew taller, his hair began to change into Ichigo’s orange glow, and the markings from his mask extended down his chest too.

”What the...”

It was CLEAR something was badly wrong with Shirosaki, as his aura was flickering, wild and unstable, different from what it usually was.

 

 

 _Another_  growl fills the air, but that voice did not belong to Shirosaki.

 

 

A second later, something leaps towards Shirosaki from somewhere above the forest and Ichigo watches in shock as the figure  ** _strikes_**  its claws right into Shirosaki’s mask.

The thing cracks and Ichigo watches in horror, expecting blood coming from under it.

Instead, once the pieces fall off, they reveal Shirosaki’s dazed face, and the hand that had just broken his mask was now grasping his neck, just below his jaw.

Once Shirosaki’s eyes clear from the haze, they widen with  _fear._

A pale beast that looked highly familiar stared up at the terrified figure with black and gold eyes, then throws the pale figure at Ichigo, both stumbling down to the sand once the pale twin collides with his ginger counterpart.

As Ichigo manages to pull himself up again, Shirosaki latches onto him with a whimper, his demeanor completely changed from earlier. As the figure walks closer to them, Shirosaki scoots to hide behind Ichigo, arms clutching his mid-section tightly. Once the ginger finally tears his confused gaze away from his scared twin, Ichigo’s eyes widen as he finally recognizes the figure heading their way.

It was  _Grimmjow,_  except it clearly  _wasn’t_ the same time.

This figure was bleached, just like Shirosaki; instead of the blue hair the long messy mane was as chalk white as the rest of him.

His eyes were black and gold like Shirosaki’s too, and the beastly battle-form was bigger than usual. Another thing was that unlike the armor Ichigo had seen the man wear, this one seemed to blend together with his body rather than seem like a piece of clothing slash armor. There was also a sharp blade at the end of the tail whipping restlessly behind him, sharp enough to probably slice them to pieces with ease.

The ginger could now tell exactly why Shirosaki was so terrified; the closer the thing got, the more heavy with dread the aura around them became.

”Who...”

 

The beastly-Grimm, stops briefly upon hearing his voice, tilting his head like a slightly curious animal, before exposing his ridiculously sharp fangs and letting out an immense ROAR, loud enough to send them stumbling across the sand, creating bit of a crater around the monstrous figure.

For a few seconds Ichigo was disoriented.

Then, upon seeing the beast charge towards them, he swiftly moves and pushes Shirosaki out of the way before the sharp, black claws can pierce through his abdomen. He doesn’t escape unscathed as the tail whips around and manages to cut a long gash to his back, making Ichigo flinch as a bit of sand ended up in the wound once he stumbled to the ground.

The pale Grimmjow snarls at them once he pulls his claws away from the sand, and grabs Ichigo’s leg before the ginger could react much, throwing him high into the air. The surprised look on the ginger’s face could have been almost amusing to Shirosaki, had he not been freaked out of his mind.

**_”Ichi!”_ **

Shirosaki yells out worried, but as the pale Grimmjow glances at him, he falters and scoots back in fear. For his luck, the beast had lost interest in his apparently weaker self, as he leaps up in the air, charging at Ichigo, who barely manages to bring his blade up to block the claws aiming for his gut.

The beast doesn’t seem phased about his attack being blocked, as the next second the whip like tail slashes Ichigo across the face, stunning him for a second. A roundhouse kick follows the attack, making him fly and cartwheel across the sands, stopping only once he hit one of the trees, nearly breaking it.

The ginger coughs out blood, tasting the rusty taste in his mouth. It made his stomach turn, and also worried him; was it a bad thing if he started bleeding here? Could he actually die?

Right now, all it did for sure was make his body hurt and burn like it was on fire.

He didn’t have much time to ponder on this as the beast charges at him again, and Ichigo rolls out of the way, watching in slight horror and reluctant awe as the tree is cut to several neat pieces with just a swing of the beast’s arm. Had that attack landed on him, he would’ve been turned into similar slices probably.

As the beast whips his head around to glare at Ichigo, the ginger was fairly sure now he knew what this thing was; it had to be the berserk instinct manifest Pantera had spoken of. He quickly brings his blade up and takes a battle stance as the berserk being attacks him again with a roar.

 

 

Shirosaki watched in horror as this...thing kept throwing Ichigo around like it was nothing; he could tell Ichi was too hesitant to launch any spiritual attacks given they were inside Grimmjow’s soul. If he didn’t do anything however, that beast-Grimmjow could potentially even kill him.

Shirosaki wasn’t entirely sure what the thing was, other than it felt... _similar_  to himself.

Which... this thing had to be the thing pantera had spoken of, another Instinct manifest like he was.

Except this one was much,  **much**  more powerful than him.

Back when he’d been fighting those sand-monsters, his brain had been kind of hazy.

It felt like something in this atmosphere had been affecting him, but now Shirosaki could tell; it was coming  _from_  that pale version of Grimmjow, who was trying to skewer his Ichi with his ridiculously sharp claws right now. The ginger’s body already looked pretty badly cut-up, and Shirosaki knew if he didn’t win this stupid fear paralyzing him and go to help, Ichi would die.

 

Suddenly, the beast manages to knock Ichigo’s blade off his hand, slashing a deep cut right across his torso, making the ginger stumble back to the ground, blood dying the white sands red slowly.

With sheer force of will – and a bit of frantic panic – Shirosaki forces himself into action and sprints towards them, basically barreling against the monster to knock him off the stunned ginger.

The beast growls at him and shrugs Shirosaki off with ease, throwing him against a nearby tree. He then marches towards the pale figure who attempts to scramble up, grabbing his collar and forcing him back against the ivory surface so hard the wood cracks behind Shirosaki, bits of the splinters pressing against his back painfully.

Shirosaki grabs the arm holding him struggling to free himself, but this manifest was much stronger and taller than him, not to mention it was his home-turf. He was helpless, and it was super frustrating. He couldn’t even summon any of that manic energy from before, probably because the atmosphere was no longer passive as the actual resident had appeared, therefore the place refused to aid Shirosaki.

The beast examines him quiet for a moment, and the pale figure lets out a whine as he recognizes the hungry look in them. This thing was gonna eat him.

**”Back off!”**

Ichigo’s voice breaks into the air, and he actually manages to shove this strange version of Grimmjow off Shirosaki, who falls on his knees into the sand, his entire body still trembling with fear. The ginger stands between him and the white-Grimm, glaring at the thing fiercely.

”I’m  ** _not letting you_**  hurt Shirosaki!”

The beast tilts his head as if not really understanding what he was saying – which was likely – before lifting its hand up and forming a glowing red ball on it much to Ichigo’s horror. There was no way he could block that, especially from such close range.

 Suddenly, a loud roar echoes in the air, and the next second, giant white panther leaps at him, pinning the white-Grimmjow to the ground.

The beast snarls as he tries to struggle free, but the large feline just rests more weight on him, attempting to restrain the wicked creature.

**_”You’ve been causing enough trouble, Six. Calm yourself and let us reach our Master before something unfathomable happens.”_ **

The panther growls lowly at the man, sounding borderline scolding.

The pale figure clearly either doesn’t hear her or doesn’t care, as he just hisses and actually claws the panther in the face, forcing Pantera to back down and move off from him. As he tries to attack her again however, pantera lets out another loud roar and leaps at him, tackling the being to the ground again. Ichigo and Shirosaki watch in a mixture of horror and confusion as the two sides of the soul struggle for dominance, spreading bits of blood around them with each cut and injury they managed to give to the other.

**_”Six, Behave yourself! This is not the time for us to fight!”_ **

Pantera attempts once again to reach her companion, but the thing just snarls at her, actually biting her throat. The panther groans and backs away, spitting out blood. The human-like beast crouches on his fours and growls lowly, and the two circle each other, clearly looking for a weak spot. If this was how these two normally communicated, it was no wonder Grimmjow was so volatile.

A whimper from behind him catches Ichigo’s attention, and he turns to crouch down in front of Shirosaki, grasping his shaky hands with his.

”Hey, it’s okay. Thanks for coming to help.”

The pale twin lifts his gaze, and he looked really small right now.

_”I thought...he was gonna kill you...”_

Shirosaki frees one of his hands and brushes the blood under Ichigo’s nose, clearly still frightened. Ichigo shushes him gently, and allows the pale figure hug him tightly, petting his back.

 A sudden yelp catches their attention, and as they turn their attention back to the two struggling figures, Ichigo realizes for his horror that pantera was losing; she was pinned to the ground on her back with sharp claws pressed deeply against her throat. The feline tries to use her back paws to kick the beast off her, but the most she manages to do was cause more injuries to the humanoid beast’s abdomen.  

_“Ichi, we gotta help, or that thing’ll kill ‘er!”_

“They’re supposed to be part of the same soul, so I don’t think they can kill each other.”

Ichigo tries to reassure his twin, but upon hearing another yelp from Pantera, even Ichigo start to worry. As the beast-Grimm attempts to claw her eyes out, the ginger sprints into action, grasping his blade firmly and leaping at them, attempting to at least whack the thing with the dull side of his blade. However, the Insinct seems to sense what he was doing and whips his tail out, smacking Ichigo back with a roar.

That bit of distraction was enough it seems, as Pantera finally kicks the thing off her, reversing their roles. There was so much blood on the ground around them that Ichigo couldn’t stop but think if this was two humans fighting, they would’ve exhausted themselves already or died.

**_“GO! Head to the forest now that I’m distracting him!”_ **

The female panther roars at them, and the two glances at each other, before sprinting towards the bony trees.

The beast clearly doesn’t like that, as suddenly it roars even louder, a burst of black and blue energy leaving his body and throwing pantera off him. The pressure wave chases after the duo and knocks them off their feet, sending them roll down the dune, stopping only once they reach the bottom.

_“He **really** don’t seem to want us there.”_

“No Shit Shirosaki.”

Ichigo mutters out, spitting sand out of his mouth as he gets up. They quickly have to leap aside as another one of those sand monsters suddenly appears and attempts to squish them with its giant tongue.

As the ginger examined the big thing blocking their path, he suddenly realizes something.

“These things…it’s the same aura as Grimmjow’s instinct.”

_“What about it?”_

Ichigo glances back at the area where the two were fighting, loud roars and snarls filling the air, occasionally hearing stuff break as anything peeking out of the sand would be destroyed during their fight. Of course... that's why Pantera had told them to head for the forest while she fought her companion. 

“It’s… **him.** _That thing_ is keeping us from getting in there. These sand monsters, he's creating them somehow.”

_“Why would it do that?”_

Shirosaki asks confused, before they have to dodge another attack aimed at them, running away from the giant monster. Soon enough more sandy things appear around the forest, each of them trying to nail the two intruders.

“Well, pantera did say Grimm isn’t listening to her, but letting Instinct control stuff…I’m guessing real Grimmjow is in there.”

_“How ta hell can we get in there?”_

The white figure muses, then quickly sprints forward to knock Ichigo to the ground so one of the pointy-nosed things doesn’t give him the life ending French kiss.

“It seems these things work somewhat independently from him.” Ichigo comments as he tries to find an opening. As they dodge another attack, the ginger suddenly realizes something.

“These are slower than before; I think Pantera’s fight against him is wearing him down enough to give these guys less power.”

Shirosaki’s eyes widen as he seems to realize the same thing upon observing the sand things trying to lick them to death. Yes, he was really nervous so he had to make this whole thing sound funny, sue his ass.

_“So we just hafta wait long enough till these things are weak enough fer us to go through?”_

Ichigo glances towards the sound of a battle behind them, then back at the sandy creatures, face in a deep focused frown. A moment later, he spots an opening, as one of the creatures starts to find it hard to keep its form, thus slowing down its movement greatly. He quickly grabs Shirosaki to gain his attention and nods towards the said monster.

They both charge full speed towards the weakened one, and jump on its tongue as it throws the thing at them, running up its length while it crumbles behind them, before leaping over the creatures head. They pull out their swords in unison and after only a second of hesitation, launch a combined energy attack to cut a pathway into the forest that they could just fall straight into.

Some of the sandy things attempt to still attack them, but it was too late as the two had already disappeared into the bony forest.

A loud, borderline desperate growl echoes in the air, and the sand monsters dissipate, turning into sand that scatters in the wind.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose ichigo shouldn't be too surprised that Grimmjow's two sides are both kind of feisty and like to cut shit up.  
> Why do you THINK Grimm is so crazy and violent?  
> he has to deal with THOSE two all day everyday.   
> .....tho stuff isn't always what it seems.  
> *mentally smacks herself to not spoil something major*


	26. reaching out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and Shiro get separated, so the ginger has to talk sense to the blunet by himself.

At first, everything had been going according to plan; once Ichigo slipped into the astral plane, Shirosaki took his place, sitting on the circle. He’d been talking to Nelliel, who’d been asking him tons of curious questions, when he’d suddenly frozen, and the next second his eyes had rolled back in his head, his body slumping to the ground.

For a second they had worried he’d died, but Urahara quickly realized that was not the case; he was still breathing and his heart was beating, but it seemed that for some reason, both Ichigo AND his hollow-like companion had been dragged into the astral plane.

After waiting for the initial panic from the accompanying trio to die down, Urahara informed them to remain calm, and that he’d monitor the situation for now. It was... unexpected to say the least.

Then again, Kurosaki _had_ grown rather close with this side of his soul it seemed, so it wasn’t too surprised he’d be dragged alongside the ginger.

Still though; if they took too long, this could be dangerous to the flesh body they left behind.

Being away from your body for extended periods of time was dangerous, hence it would have been better for Shirosaki to stay behind and occupy it to prevent any complications. So, Urahara casts another spell, sealing the slumped figure inside a time-slowing bubble of sorts. It would keep any sort of decay at bay for now, hopefully.

 

 

 

Trekking through the forest was no easy task; despite the chaos behind them, the small pathway Ichigo’s guiding light was showing was at times very narrow, and the branches moved, occasionally forcing them to divert their course.

What’s more, Shirosaki was starting to turn tenser and tenser, up until he downright _stopped_ walking.

Ichigo turns to look at him confused, and the pale figure shakes his head.

_”I dun think I should be goin’ too.”_

”Why not?”

_”I just...I feel like I shouldn’t.”_

That...didn’t make sense, and Ichigo turns to face him fully, a scowl on his face.

”Don’t be silly; why would Grimmjow not want you there? All this talk about you being a part of me... if he’s gonna allow me there, he sure as hell should let you come as well.”

The pale figure sighs and shakes his head. He couldn’t explain it, but something about this forest was screaming at him to turn back.

Perhaps them **both** , Ichi just couldn’t hear it for some reason.

_”It’s...not that, Ichi. I...”_

Suddenly, the ground shakes, and their gazes snap up, as the forest around them begins to shift. Ichigo has to jump out of the way as one of the pointy and sharp branches attempts to skewer him out of nowhere. They turn back-to-back, looking around cautiously at the moving trees around them.

_”Shit. I think he knows we’re here now.”_

Yeah, Shirosaki was probably right. They quickly jump aside as another branch tries to pierce them, and Ichigo quickly tells Shirosaki to run.

They sprint ahead, following the glowing line that was guiding them, dodging and jumping over ivory branches trying to stop them. The pathway ahead grew more and more narrow, and Ichigo was barely able to dodge another ivory spread heading his way, grasping a branch and hopping over an obstacle the trees had created.

A loud yelp from behind him stops Ichigo on his tracks, and he whips around to look at Shirosaki with widened eyes.

A branch had wrapped around his leg and the pale twin of his was dangling upside down in the air, bewildered look on his face. Several of the pointy branches charge towards him now, and Ichigo shouts his name in shock, too far to do anything.

The white spears stop just inches away from frightened Shirosaki, one of them so close it almost poked his eye.

Slowly, the branches retreat, and Ichigo breathes a sigh of relief.

However, instead of releasing Shirosaki, the vine around his leg suddenly swings him up, and Ichigo watches in shock as his twin flies into the air, disappearing above the trees. ”Shirosaki!” Before he could even do anything, the branches above close, blocking his view and bathing most of his surroundings into darkness.

” _What the hell Grimmjow?!_ Why did you do that!?”

Suddenly, the branch he was standing on drops, and Ichigo falls to the ground with a thud, making his head spin briefly.

The branches now charge at him, attempting to throw the ginger off the place as well probably.

He scrambles to his feet and manages to dodge them, then notices an opening nearby, diving through the small hole to avoid being skewered. The pathway closes behind him seconds before the branches reach his leg, and everything falls dead silent the next second. For a moment, Ichigo just sits there, breathing heavily in silence. His way back was blocked, but at least in this area the trees did not seem hostile.

Upon hearing movement behind him, Ichigo glances over his shoulder, and notices a pathway was slowly opening up for him.

The aura in this part felt _different._

Perhaps he’d reached some sort of threshold in the forest where whatever commanded the attacking trees no longer had any influence.

With a slight groan, Ichigo gets up and starts cautiously walking across the slowly opening path, hoping it wasn’t a trap.

He kept a hand on his blade hilt just in case. Hopefully Shirosaki was okay.

 

 

Once Shirosaki landed, he found himself back outside the forest. The pale figure felt dazed and confused, but his head cleared quickly as he realized what had happened.

_”Ichi!”_

Panicking, he tries to enter back in to the forest, but the tree trunks form a tight barricade, stopping him from going in. Shirosaki snarls and tries to use his blade to carve a path, but that’s when the branches attack him again, tying around his hands to try and restrain him.

Shirosaki manages to tear himself free and backs away with a hiss, swinging his blade to cut through the obstacles in his way.

He could not leave Ichi alone there; who knew what could happen. However, no matter how many of the branches he cut, more grew to take their place, constantly trying to tie him up or even cut him to keep him from entering.

Finally, one of the ivory vines manages to snatch his blade away from his hand, throwing it far away.

_”Stupid trees!”_

Shirosaki huffs and kicks the nearest trunk, and falls to sit on the sand, not knowing what to do.

He clearly was not allowed back there, but he was worried sick about Ichi. Even if that place was part of Grimmjow’s mind, it was hostile for some reason. The Pale figure worried Grimmjow would end up hurting Ichi involuntarily. His weird doppelganger had already made him bleed once, and that was a bad sign, even if Shirosaki didn't know exactly why he was sure of this.

Another thing; he was now _alone,_ surrounded by Grimmjow’s spiritual essence, which was even thicker than normal given he was right inside his soul.

He felt extremely anxious and uneasy without Ichi by his side, now that the air was no longer passive towards him like it had initially been for some reason.

Now he was an unwanted outsider, both of them, but because he was just a soul fragment and not a full soul like Ichi, the hostility in the air affected him much worse.

The pale figure shook as a cold chill traveled down his spine, and he backs away from the forest, looking around with wide eyes.

He didn’t know what to do; he didn’t know how to get to Ichi.

He also didn’t know where the two fighting beasts were, and knew if he got caught in the crossfire that could be really bad. His hands were shaking now, and Shirosaki curls up to a ball, clutching his head as his panic and the atmosphere surrounding him started to overwhelm him.

The pale figure hated it each time it happened, but he just couldn’t help it.

He wasn’t supposed to be there.

_He wasn’t invited._

Suddenly the sands around him rose up, but instead of creating monsters, the white substance wrapped around him like it was trying to imprison him. Shirosaki struggles against it, but he was soon covered in it, his vision growing black as the light was blocked from him, leaving the frightened being trapped into a cocoon of sand that felt like it was sinking deeper and deeper into the ground.

_“G-Grimm please stop!”_

Shirosaki whimpers out, curled up into a ball now in the tiny space he had left.

Suddenly, the weight pushing on him shifts lightly, and instead of sand, for a second it felt like someone was _holding_ him in the darkness.

There was a wisp of breath brushing over his ear, and a voice echoed in his head.

 

_Go back. Six’ll crush you with his pressure._

 

 

A moment later, he felt like he was flying trough sparkling space, surrounded by blurry lights and ribbons, heading towards light and familiar voices ahead.

 

 

 

Ichigo did not know how long he’d been crawling, but finally, the ginger spots light ahead.

As he crawls out from his narrow pathway, he finds himself in an open field of sorts, except that he could barely see the sky above as the trees blocked the view. There was a glowing, blue crystal in the middle, and a familiar figure was leaning against it. Grimmjow did not react one bit as he paced closer, not even turning to look at him. The man looked even more exhausted than he was in the real world, just sitting there and gazing into the thin air wordlessly.

Ichigo stops nearby him, and after a moment of hesitation, sits down, leaning against the crystal as well while still keeping a tiny bit of distance between them.

The silence mounts for a long moment, up until the ginger finally finds the courage to speak.

”Why did you do that?”

He didn’t have to explain what he meant, as Grimmjow seemed to get what he was referring to.

 _”I_ didn’t. Ta forest is controlled by Six on the outer rim. He likely wanted ta get rid of both of ya.”

Oh… so the reason why this area wasn’t hostile was because Grimmjow controlled it?

“….Thanks. I guess it was you who let me escape.”

Grimmjow just hums, not looking at him.

“Is Shirosaki okay?”

Ichigo asks concerned, and after a moment of silence, the blunet nods slowly.

“Six almost crushed ‘im by accident wit’ his spiritual pressure. I sent ‘im back ta the real world.”

Ichigo releases a sigh of relief, now knowing that Shirosaki was safe. Then again if something had happened to his pale twin, he’d likely know about it. Ichigo remains quiet otherwise, trying to think of what to say.

He suddenly found himself at a loss of words; he understood what Pantera had meant about confronting Grimmjow at his most vulnerable.

 _This_ Grimmjow was clearly in a much worse shape than the one he saw in the living world.

He was hiding in this place, he looked beyond sickly, and even his voice was unusually quiet, like he hadn’t used it in ages. The power he normally radiated was also gone, replaced by this heart-aching emptiness. It almost felt like the man was soulless, except that wasn’t the case as they were _literally_ inside Grimmjow’s soul.

This was just the manifest of the ’master’ part of it, I.E the Grimmjow from the real world, but without any sort of shields and cracks he could put up out there.

"What's this thing?"

Ichigo asks, nodding towards the glowing crystal they were leaning against. Grimmjow barely bothers to look at him.

"T's a solid form of spiritual essence. There's plenty of these things in the caverns of Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo wanted to smack himself in frustration; Why was he wasting time asking pointless questions? Why was he suddenly so afraid to talk to Grimmjow? ....Perhaps because the man looked so weak right now.

”Why’d you bother comin’ here?”

The blunet asks quietly all of a sudden, no emotion coloring his voice except exhaustion.

”I want to help.” He'd been saying this to the man so much it almost began to sound like some sort of trademark quip or something.

 _”I know that_. Why do you bother? This got nothing to do with you. Why ya keep comin' back ta me when ya don't have to...”

Ichigo sighs, rubbing his eyes. Right now he wasn't sure if there would be much of a difference in this conversation after all.

”Why do you wish to know why I bother? Why does it matter?”

Grimmjow remains quiet, glancing at him briefly, then shrugs, turning his gaze away again.

”S’ppose it don’t.”

It was really disturbing, hearing his voice without any of the usual flare, it just didn’t feel right.

He’d even take Six’ growling and snarling over this dead-eyed look Grimmjow was sporting right now.

”Grimmjow. She’s alive. Pantera’s out there, and she wants to talk to you.”

Ichigo decides to just confront him with the truth. The blue eyes drift at him again, but there is no reaction in them, no shock, no joy, not even denial. Nothing.

He eventually looks away again, staring into the thin air ahead.

”I know.”

**_Wait, what?_ **

If Grimmjow knew...

”Why did you claim she was dead?”

”Dunno.” The man mutters, closing his eyes with a sigh. He looked about ready to fall asleep, which Ichigo was not going to allow right now. He shifts to sit in front of Grimmjow and grasps his shoulders, shaking him lightly to make the man look at him.

”She _misses_ you. Six needs you to help him control himself. You can’t keep hiding like this!”

”What does it matter? T’s not like there’s anythin’ out there ta return to.”

Grimmjow mutters out, not even bothering to avoid Ichigo’s glare. He just didn’t care enough.

”You say that, but...if you really feel that, why do you keep resisting the hunger to not hurt me or especially Shirosaki? If you really don’t care, if nothing really matters, why do you do that?”

The blunet shrugs, as if he didn’t have an answer to it.

”Look, I...you’ve lost a lot, and probably not really handled your traumas properly. It’s not something a hollow usually deals with, isn’t it?”

Ichigo asks softer now, letting go of his shoulders and sliding to grasp his hands instead. Grimmjow doesn’t reply, still just gazing at the ginger with a dull gaze.

”It’s true that what you had in the past... it’s gone. It won’t come back, but...”

The ginger swallows down, squeezing the hands he was holding. He had to get through to this guy finally, or this whole trip would be for nothing.

”But you still got something; Nelliel is there, and while she’s just a kid, she still used to be somebody you knew and...I guess liked somewhat?”

Grimmjow hums, but doesn’t react otherwise.

”Grimm, please, look at me.”

Ichigo near begs quietly now, hating to see the man like this; it was nothing like the fierce warrior he’d sort of gotten to know over the past months. Eventually, the blue eyes actually focus on him, and cautiously, Ichigo lifts a hand up to brush his fingers over the mask resting on the side of his face.

”None of it is your fault. Just because people around you choose to do stupid things for your sake, that is not on you. I don’t blame you for feeling guilty over it, but...”

Ichigo pauses, searching for the right words.

”They would not want you to do this. They gave up their lives because they saw you as worth it. My ancestor loved you enough to forsake his own descend to the heavens just so you could have a chance at life again. Your Fraccion likely thought along the same lines when they fought against that man.”

”Ya don’t know me, Kurosaki. Ya can’t fuckin’ say m’ worth it.”

There was a bit of that fire returning to his eyes, which was a good sign.

”Why not? Why should I not have faith in the words of those who did know you?”

”None of ’em really did.”

Grimmjow counters, staring at Ichigo with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

”How so? Based on what I red from Kaien’s writings, he seemed to understand you even better than you did.”

The blunet pauses at that, then turns his glare away with a huff, smacking Ichigo’s hand away.

”He always loved ta play a fuckin’ shrink.”

”He wasn’t wrong though, wasn’t he?”

Ichigo presses on, sensing that Grimmjow was starting to come around slowly, given how he was turning slightly irritated. Ironically, it was actually a good sign now, as it indicated he did care enough to try and not show a weak spot he knew he had.

”Back then, you had not really felt the need to connect with anybody, but he changed that. I understand that you find it difficult to deal with all this negative baggage, because you haven’t dealt with such a thing before...”

Ichigo grasps his shoulders again, making the man look at him directly now.

”I _told you_ already before, and if I didn’t, I’ll say it now; I’m here for you. I’ve dealt with losses before, and I can help you. Hiding away and trying to be like you don’t care is just hurting you more than its helping.”

The blunet just stares at him, his expression highly tense. In fact, his whole body felt stiff under Ichigo’s touch.

”Why do you bother? You keep statin’ shit like that, but its not like you have any obligation ta do that.”

The ginger huffs frustrated and actually shakes him a little now.

Why did Grimmjow _have_ to keep repeating that as his response?

This song-and-dance was getting really old and irritating.

”Because I **want to**! I got involved into this whole shit-show, not because Kaien asked me to help you, but because I WANTED to! Why won’t you believe me when I say I care?!”

Ichigo nearly yells out those last words, his frustration finally bubbling to the surface. After all they’d gone through, all he’d done for Grimmjow, why did the man still seem to doubt his intentions?

Yes, he had said that he should work to gain Grimmjow’s trust, but...

”I never said I _don’t_ believe ya, dumbass.”

The blunet mutters out, removing Ichigo’s hands from his shoulders.

”I just don’t see _why_ you should bother, given the shit I put you trough, n’ the fact people who choose to care for my sorry ass end up dying.”

”The ONLY thing I can consider actually bad was when you possessed me and made me hurt Rukia, and even that was clearly not fully on you.”

”Yer too forgiving.”

**_”SO WHAT?!”_ **

Grimmjow is actually taken aback by that outburst, and he watches as Ichigo huffs out several harsh breaths, his body shaking with frustration and anger.

There were tears in his eyes too now, as all the emotion from the past few days finally bubbled to the surface.

”Do you have _any_ idea how hard it has been for the past days? I had to  watch you suffer and struggle with yourself, and you just WOULDN’T let me help you for whatever bullshit reason you thought up in your head! Do you even understand how SELFISH that was of you?! You’re not only endangering yourself, but EVERYBODY ELSE around you, all because you and your stupid PRIDE won’t let you admit you need help in dealing with your baggage! Not even when somebody would be willing to help you!”

”I fuckin’ told ya to just kill me then! Why do ya BOTHER tryin’ ta ’help’ me if I piss you off so much!?”

Grimmjow spats back at him as he stands up, and the ginger does so as well, glaring back at him with equal fury.

”Because that doesn’t SOLVE anything! You’d just be running away from your issues! Since when did you become a COWARD?!”

Grimmjow snarls at him and grabs his throat all of a sudden, forcing Ichigo against the crystal by his neck. The impact hurt, but he refused to let the resulting dizziness to mend down his anger.

”When will you get it through your thick skull that none of us will judge you for feeling weak! Everybody goes through that sometime in their lives! Maybe your former hollow comrades would have judged you, but _we_ won’t. Nelliel and his friends won't, PANTERA won’t, **I sure as hell don’t!** ”

”What makes ya think yer opinion fuckin’ matters, or any of theirs for that matter?!”

_”Because you wouldn’t be hiding if it didn’t!”_

Ichigo spats right back, actually managing to grasp the arm holding him up and tearing it off him, shoving Grimmjow back a few steps.

This was not how Ichigo had intended to deal with it, but he began to see that perhaps confronting Grimmjow like this was the best way to go about it, given soft words didn’t seem to work. He’d gone quiet, just staring at Ichigo with a slightly surprised expression, and the ginger didn’t blame him; he’d been holding his temper back with Grimmjow for so long out of worrying an outburst would just make his already volatile mind-state worse, but it had become clear this was not how Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez worked.

He was not one to be made to understand with soft roundabout ways, he was one of those who needed to hear it **bluntly.**

So, Ichigo unloaded all of it that he'd been holding back.

” _I don’t care_ whenever you’re weak or strong, **I don’t give a shit** about any of that! I don’t even mind if you feel weak right now, because it’s only understandable! I just want you to stop wallowing in self-pity like this! Stop making excuses for not facing your own feelings!”

The ginger noted his voice started to grow shaky, and his expression began to blur with tears again.

”I hate seeing you like this, I HATE how you are hiding like a damn coward, when it’s not... _it’s not what you are_. It’s **not** what you’re supposed to be.”

”What makes ya think that? We’ve only known fer few months.”

”If you were a coward, you’d just given up already, you’d just let yourself devour Shirosaki, you’d not even considered Ukitake’s offer of trying to make things right. You wouldn’t have bothered helping me all those times. You would’ve just kept hiding in your zanpakuto instead of getting involved in my life.”

Grimmjow clearly had nothing to counter that with.

Ichigo takes that as an encouraging sign, and walks closer, this time planting a hand on the man’s cheek, noting he was shaking lightly.

He takes in a deep breath to try and calm down.

Letting all of that out had significantly helped his heavy mind, but Ichigo knew he was not exactly done yet.

He had to make Grimmjow see that it wasn't a bad thing to feel weak at times.

”C’mon. Stop hiding away, Pantera wants her master back. Six needs his master back so he won't fuck shit up too bad, Hueco Mundo likely needs their king as well, or at least Nel and others need somebody to look after them.”

Ichigo's voice was softer again, gently caressing the tan skin under his thumb subconsciously. The blue eyes gaze down at him with that tired expression returning.

”There ain’t no kings in Hueco Mundo anymore. Aizen made sure of that.”

”Perhaps not...but you’re my friend too. I want you back into your senses as much as they do. Maybe it doesn't make much sense to you, but _you made me give a shit_ about you, whenever you like it or not.”

Grimmjow actually snorts at that, a slight hint of a smile dancing on his lips now, even if it was strained.

”Ya don’t really know how I’m actually like.”

Ichigo actually manages to smile as well, slipping his hand down from Grimmjow’s cheek to rest it on his shoulder.

Shit, his eyes were starting to tear up again; letting all of that out clearly had some consequences, but Ichigo couldn't bring himself to care right now.

He could sense Grimmjow was _actually_ listening now.

”I’d like to, though.”

For a moment they just gaze at each other quiet, and Ichigo could feel his anxiety rise slowly as more time passed without Grimmjow saying anything. Had his outburst helped like he’d initially thought, or was the man going to slam the door on him again, metaphorically speaking.

”....Nah. We _ain’t_ friends. That ain't happening.”

Ichigo looks up at him with a frown, about ready to argue and tell the man that he didn’t get to decide how Ichigo felt, when the blunet suddenly leans closer, planting a slight kiss right at his mouth.

The ginger’s eyes widen, and for a moment all he could do was stare at the lightly smirking blunet, though there was still that weight and wariness in his expression. The ginger opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, and his face slowly begins to heat up. Ichigo had never been kissed like that, aside from that awkward incident with Renji that they’d _sworn_ to  never speak of again. 

He’d never been kissed by somebody he liked, and Ichigo realized abruptly that he _didn’t mind_ what Grimmjow had just done at all.

He’d _liked it,_ and the bastard clearly knew it given the grin on his face now.

The next thing he knew, the ginger wraps his arms around the man’s neck and tugs him close for another kiss, this one clumsier due to his lack of experience. The blunet just chuckles a bit but responds to it, his hands resting on Ichigo’s waist now. It was crazy of him to do this, Grimmjow was a HOLLOW and clearly an unstable individual, but.... it felt so right.

”Just so ya know...”

The blunet mutters out as they part, resting his forehead against Ichigo's.

”This is a shit idea. M’ high maintenance.”

The ginger actually laughs at that a bit, a mixture of emotions hitting him upon hearing that more light-hearted tone. His eyes began to tear up again, and Ichigo has to wipe his eyes to clear his vision.

”Crybaby.”

Grimmjow mutters out softly, his hand stroking Ichigo's side unconsciously.

”Oh shut it you ass.”

The ginger mumbles out, but he was still smiling.

”....I mean it. There’s.... a lot of shit that I....This ain't exactly gonna come easy ta me. Don't expect it.”

Grimmjow pauses and looks aside, as if even just admitting that had been a struggle.

”I know. Believe me. I came here to get you to actually deal with them, and I know full well it’s probably going to be even more of a shit-storm than what we’ve dealt with so far given that awful temper of yours. But at least, now you’d be trying.”

Ichigo tells the man firmly, all of his anger melting away and replaced by his usual resolve, the kind where he was swearing an oath to somebody he fully intended on keeping.

Grimmjow examines him for a moment, then sucks in a deep breath and nods, closing his eyes and just sort of hiding his face against Ichigo’s shoulder for a bit.

He wasn’t quite crying, but it was clear his emotional state was shaky at best.

The ginger wraps his arms around the blunet tightly, hugging him as firm as he could. His eyes still kind of wanted to tear up, but it was mostly relief now; Grimmjow was FINALLY listening to him, willing to let himself deal with what he'd been hiding away from, and the amount of relief Ichigo felt was almost overwhelming. It was a good thing Grimmjow was very strong and solid body to lean against, as the ginger felt like Grimmjow wasn't the only one in need of support.

Suddenly, a bit of light peeked through from above, and Ichigo watches as the forest around them slowly uncurls itself, up until Ichigo could finally spot the panther heading their way. She seemed to be okay mostly, though there were bits of dried blood on her, and the feline was clearly limping slightly.

 

**_”Well done boy. You managed to force Six’ influence away from him.”_ **

 

Ichigo looks around, and then spots what he was looking for; the instinct manifest was currently curled up against a tree, white chains that seemed to be coming from within the sand around his limbs, clawing at his mask with quiet snarls. The blunet gazes at the beastly version of himself without any emotion in his eyes, but there was a slight disdain there, given the way his body tensed; he’d been trapped inside his zanpakuto for so long so seeing any version of him in chains – even if it was necessary – rubbed him the wrong way.

Slowly, Grimmjow lets go of Ichigo and turns to look at Pantera, a mixture of emotions in his eyes.

The panther says nothing, just walks to him and sits in front of the blunet.

After a moment of silence, Grimmjow crouches down and embraces his zanpakuto spirit tightly, gaining a slight purr from the female cat.

 

**_”I’ve missed you, Master.”_ **

 

The blunet says nothing, just buries his face into her fur and breathes slowly. While he gets what Kurosaki had tried to say, he didn’t exactly want to break down in front of so many watchful eyes, it was still hard on his pride.

He could hear Six claw at his restraints and actually whine at him, clearly displeased at being trapped.

“Shut up you lil shithead. You’ve done enough.”

Grimmjow mutters at his Instinct, who turns quiet but keeps glaring at him.

 

**_”Thank you, Kurosaki Ichigo; Master and I must discuss about...private matters for now. You should return to the real world now, for your twin is concerned.”_ **

 

The panther suddenly breaks the silence, looking at Ichigo.

The ginger nods after a moment of hesitation, and the white feline turns her head to glance at her master clinging to her.

 

**_”Master; I know you are emotionally in a turbulent place, but you must aid our friend to reach his own body again.”_ **

 

Grimmjow releases a slow sigh and let’s go of her slowly, standing up and turning to look at the two. There was clearly something he still wanted to say, but Grimmjow knew they did not have time for this. He could finish this later on, after he heard what Pantera had to say.

”Ya might wanna throw up after this.” The blunet warns him and lifts his hand. A blue flash emanates from him, and Ichigo feels like a fierce wind takes a hold of him all of a sudden, throwing the two into a whirlpool of darkness.

The sandy scenery disappears from sight, and last thing Ichigo registers is a slight growl coming from Grimmjow’s instinct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That convo with Grimmjow and Ichi was tricky to write.  
> Somehow these two will always end up yelling at each other to get trough, as they are the kind of people who, as ichigo said about Grimm, NEED to hear it bluntly.


	27. homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of that astral-plane schooltrip.

Grimmjow had been right.

Once Ichigo opened his eyes back in the real world, he _immediately_ flipped over to vomit.

The thing was, there wasn’t really anything to vomit out, so most of it was just saliva and stomach fluids, making his throat ache. It was absolutely awful.

”Oh my...are you well Kurosaki-san?”

Urahara asks concerned once Ichigo’s breathing eases, and the ginger nods, looking around hazily. Ichigo notes he was inside some strange energy bubble, probably formed by Urahara for one reason or another. He just sat there quietly for a moment, waiting for his damned head to stop spinning, and his stomach to settle down.

Ichi, are you okay?”

Came a frantic voice from his brain, and Ichigo manages to reassure his twin between nauseous fits that he’d be okay. He promised to explain everything that had happened once his head would stop spinning.

”White Itsygo suddenly went to sleep, it was scary! Then he came back and looked spooked, Nel was really worried!”

Nel exclaims as she jumps to cling onto Ichigo's arm once Urahara lowers the barrier, large tears streaming down her face. Ichigo manages to reassure the girl that they were both fine, and his condition looked worse than it was.

”Indeed, that was lightly unexpected.”

Urahara adds, and Ichigo looks up at the man, asking how long he’d been out. The blond haired man glances his watch for a brief moment.

”About eight hours I’d say. Good thing you have someone to fill in for you, as without Shirosaki your body could start decaying faster when doing this.”

Ichigo checks himself upon hearing that whole decay part, but luckily there were no signs of any sort of issues, though he was still a little pale. The ginger attempts to push himself up, but he was still highly dizzy, so the two male hollows move in to support him.

They bring Ichigo to the seat nearest to him - which was apparently Nelliel’s - and make him sit on it to wait until the dizziness passed.

”Is...where’s Grimmjow? Is he still....?”

”Well, while you were out, I did check on him a few times. He was still in a deep sleep. His aura has stopped pulsing though, which I believe is a good sign.”

Ichigo nods a bit, figuring Urahara had to be right. The fact Grimmjow was still out cold was worrying though.

”I cannot be sure exactly what is going on with him, not until he awakens.”

Urahara looks at Ichigo pointedly, and the ginger swallows down nervous.

Sure, it seemed like things would take a turn for the better now, but reigning in your instinct could not be that easy, especially not when it was someone like Six, who’d just attacked Ichigo straight off the bat and pretty much dominated his sorry ass mostly.

Not to mention how he’d really done a number on Pantera, who was probably used to sparring with him.

As he thought back on that fight, Ichigo couldn’t stop but wonder; why had he been so ....  _Defenseless_  against the Instinct?

Sure he knew Grimmjow was  **powerful** , but Ichigo was no pushover.

Then again.... they had NEVER actually fought.

The ginger had no exact clue just how strong Grimmjow was compared to him. He could not say for sure he’d be able to handle him in battle.

”Is something bothering you, Kurosaki-san?”

Urahara questions him with a curious look on his face. The ginger shakes his head with a sigh, still feeling dizzy. Right now they couldn’t really do anything but wait for the atmosphere to stabilize itself, and the blunet to wake up to get a proper bearing on what was going on and what they would do next.

Plus, he still needed to explain the whole thing to Shirosaki who was still slightly spooked in his brain. Whatever had happened before he got sent back, it clearly had freaked his twin out.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo watched Urahara hustle with his machine; apparently the atmosphere was starting to be stable enough to open a portal, which was good news. The only problem was that Grimmjow _still_  hadn’t woken up, and it was hours since.

Ichigo did not want to leave until he was awake and the ginger had a proper idea of his state.

”Is Itsygo going to go home soon?”

The ginger turns to look at the girl who’d walked to sit beside him on the stairs. Nel was apparently really fond of him, choosing to come and talk to him instead of watching curiously what Urahara was doing like her friends.

”Yes, though I’m hoping to talk with Grimmjow first… I don’t just want to leave like that after all this.”

The girl hums, tilting her head.

Then, a slight mischievous smirk appears on her face.

”Itsygo _likes_  Gwimmjow.”

She stated it in a rather typical, childlike sing-song manner, and Ichigo rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide the slight redness tainting his cheeks. Really, it shouldn’t be that big of deal, right? People had crushes all the time. Not everyone’s crush was a  _hollow_  though, let alone a king.

”Is Itsygo gunna become a queen now?”

The ginger sputters out and stares at her baffled, his faint blush turning into a full-blown embarrassed glow.

” _That’s not how this works!_  I’m not... I can’t...No!”

Nel just giggles at him with that same mischievous look glinting in her eyes, before waving at her two companions who’d turned to look at what made Ichigo raise his voice all of a sudden.

”Look, Nel. It’s true that I... _like_  Grimmjow, but I wouldn’t say that it’s on such a level - not that I would ever become something like that, it’s not how this works - we’re still... sort of figuring things out. ”

”So Itsygo dun actually like Gwimmjow?”

”I do! It’s just...”

Ichigo huffs out a sigh and rubs his eyes frustrated; why was he even bothering trying to explain this to a child? Especially a child who was apparently an airhead due to her injury.

”It’s okay. Nel dun mind If Itsygo dun want to be called a queen; Itsygo sounds better anyway.”

**”That’s not...!”**

A sudden wave of awareness hit him, and the ginger gets up, heading towards Grimmjow’s chambers.

The man had woken up, Ichigo could  _feel_  it.

His heart beat in his chest, and despite being aware that things should be better now, he was nervous.

Once he reaches the room, Ichigo finds the man was indeed awake, but he  _wasn’t_  in his room.

Ichigo looks around in worry, trying to locate the blunet with his senses. Soon enough, he picks a familiar aura from somewhere, and rushes towards the direction. As he sprints across the hallway, Ichigo finds himself in a somewhat familiar area; he’d seen it in one of the memory-dreams...

Soon enough, he ends up outside, and finds himself in the same location Kaien had sat on in one of the flashbacks.

Grimmjow was standing on the  _exact_  spot, gazing at the sandy scenery quietly.

He looked better now, no longer pale, his eyes no longer grayish or black and gold with hollow-hunger. The ginger examines him unsure if he should go closer or not; Ichigo wasn’t entirely certain what mood the man was in, given he’d been knocked out quite a while longer.

He had  _no idea_  what Grimmjow might’ve been doing in his mind while he was out cold, what he and his two other halves had been talking about.

Eventually, Ichigo gathers his courage and walks closer, keeping a close eye on the man.

Right now his aura was calm, but there was no way of knowing if he’d go crazy again, with the kind of monster his Instinct apparently was.

 

 

”.......You still stink.”

 

Ichigo blinks, having not expected THAT to be the first comment the man would say.

The blunet tilts his head lightly towards Ichigo, his blue eyes colored by light amusement.

The ginger frowns at that, but doesn’t say anything at first, just walks to stand beside Grimmjow, leaving some space between them.

”To my understanding, you seemed to like the scent. I doubt you’d want to eat something that smells horrible.”

Grimmjow snorts, but says nothing to that comeback, clearly still somewhat thinking about something. They both remain quiet, just examining the landscape ahead. The longer he’d spent there, the more Ichigo began to find the harsh scenery kind of _beautiful_  in its own way; the deep, dark sky was in such contrast with the almost snow-white sand, the few stars twinkling on the sky looking almost like tiny diamonds spread sparingly across a greenish black silk.

 

The absolute  **vastness**  and sheer space was kind of incredible, though also lonely.

Amusingly, Ichigo began to feel that a lot of those words could describe the man beside him as well; Grimmjow was crude and harsh, but charming in his own way.

He was incredible to observe in battle due to the sheer power he possessed, but just like the vastness of this desert, it was also kind of terrifying to watch.

There was one difference though; unlike the uncaring, cold desert, Grimmjow  _felt_  things. He wasn’t made of the ivory stone that littered the desert.

He was a living being like Ichigo, even if built differently.

”I’m glad you woke up; Urahara is soon done with the preparations for the portal.”

Ichigo comments softly after he was done philosophizing about the scenery, a small smile on his lips. The blunet lifts eyebrow at him, and Ichigo rubs his neck awkwardly, telling him he’d felt weird leaving before he’d woken up.

”I mean, I’d come back; I sure as hell would join Ukitake-san to his visit, but...”

The blunet’s silent gaze was really making him fidgety for some reason. Or maybe it was because for once, Ichigo couldn’t exactly tell what Grimmjow’s mood was; he was completely blank, there was nothing coming through the link either. The only thing telling him it was still active was this slight humming of foreign energy against his own that mixed in with his aura at times, instead of just brushing against it like auras normally would.

”Can ya guys hold it off fer a bit?”

Ichigo blinks confused, and Grimmjow sighs, his hand landing on top of his zanpakuto’s hilt on his hip.

For a moment, the blue eyes gaze at the blade, and Ichigo could now feel energy radiating from it, like a soul-possessing Zanpakuto should.

Pantera was back home, and the thought made Ichigo surprisingly happy; sure he  _was_  glad for Grimmjow, but there also was just something especially  _tragic_  about an empty zanpakuto, when the owner was still alive.

”This whole meeting thing.”

”With Ukitake-san? Why?”

Grimmjow glances at Ichigo, before his gaze lowers back at the blade.

”Would ya want ta have a chat with somebody that’s a part of the group whose member killed yer entire family, when yer still dealing with shit relating to that whole situation?”

Ah, that was a good point. Still though...

”Ukitake-san is a gentle and righteous man; he wants to talk with you precisely because he wants to learn the truth of what happened, so that... I don’t know, maybe we can do something.”

Grimmjow snorts at that.

”Ya can’t raise the dead, Kurosaki.”

”I know...I’m just trying to say that he doesn’t have any sinister motivations.”

”How fuckin’  _sure_  can ya be about that Kurosaki? Don’t forget he was one of those who hid the truth, just like the bastards before 'im that led the Shinigami.”

Grimmjow reminds him with a bit of stealth creeping into his tone, and yeah, when putting it like that, Ukitake didn’t exactly look trustworthy.

”Ukitake-san wasn’t exactly aware of all the details to my understanding. I don’t think he even knew the full reason why it was hidden.”

”Look, I  _might_  like ya a lil' Kurosaki, but I don’t got much reason ta trust ANY of yer shinigami buddies, and I’m sure as HELL  **not**  letting ’em in MY home while m’ still weakened n’ not ready ta face them.”

Grimmjow’s tone held no room for an argument, and Ichigo sighs, nodding slightly. He understood that sentiment well enough; if he was in Grimmjow’s shoes, having gone through all that, he probably wouldn’t trust any of them either no matter what one of them whom he was fond of might say.

”How long do you need?”

Grimmjow turns quiet; his eyes shifting back to that slightly unnerving blankness. He examined the ginger for a moment, long enough to make Ichigo fidgety again. The gold breeze often blowing trough Hueco Mundo felt even colder for a moment, making Ichigo shudder lightly.

”A week or two.”

_Couple of weeks?_

Okay, that was a while...

Ichigo wasn’t so sure if he wanted to leave the man by himself for such a long time.

”Just ’cause ya said you’d help me out, it don’t mean I NEED yer presence 24/7. It’ll get annoying as all hell.”

Grimmjow snorts, having red Ichigo’s thoughts from his expression. He COULD still hear them directly too, granted, but sometimes the carrot-top was too damn obvious that one didn't need telepathy to figure out where his mind was going.

”I just...a few weeks is a long time alone with your thoughts. My whole point was that there’d be somebody you can...share with.”

”I  _ain’t_  alone, Kurosaki.”

Grimmjow reminds him quietly, tapping his zanpakuto.

Sure, Pantera was with him again, but... Grimmjow had refused to hear her for such a long time, and given the panther  _was_  part of his soul, it wasn’t exactly sharing with somebody else, someone who could give you new perspective. If Ichigo understood anything about how this whole deal worked, Pantera could provide sound advice, but more complex emotional matters... Ichigo had a feeling she might not be able to help with those quite that well.

You could not deal with trauma with just logic and common sense alone, and Six was  _sure as hell_  not the right person to handle it either.

It seemed that hollows did not develop a manifestation that could focus on one's emotional side alone, which sort of made sense given how their world worked. It seemed though... getting involved with the Shinigami had at least made Grimmjow a bit more human, which was now causing a bit of trouble for his mental state.

Ichigo kind of felt bad about that, even if it wasn't his fault.

” _You_  got yer own shit to deal with. That whole thing with Shirosaki, ya gotta figure out what the hell is he exactly.”

Grimmjow reminds the ginger Shinigami all of a sudden, and Ichigo frowns, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to demand Urahara to tell him everything once he got out. He’d forgotten about it due to the dizziness and nausea at first, but now it was back in his brain in full force.

”....I will. But that doesn’t mean I should just ignore your existence while I do that.”

”Like ya  _could_ ignore me.”

Grimmjow snorts with a wry smirk, though his gaze was focused back at the horizon.

Ichigo couldn’t stop but roll his eyes at that comment, though he was smiling too; it seemed that Grimmjow was in a fairly okay mood right now, which was a good thing.

”I mean it Kurosaki; I don’t wanna see any of ya Shinigami around here for a bit.”

Ichigo sighs, telling the man he’d heard him the first time. The blunet turns to face him, hands in his pockets now.

”That  ** _goes fer you_**  as well. You got yer own shit ta deal with, so  _deal with it._ ”

 

Ichigo could not stop but feel a bit slighted; sure,  _one_  kiss didn’t really mean that he was obliged to stick around if Grimmjow didn’t want it right now, but still... having the man basically tell him to fuck off after all that... it made Ichigo a little miffed.

”M’not ditching you per say; I had ta tell ’im too to fuck right off a couple of times when he wanted ta stay fer me. The fucker would’ve just exhausted ’imself ta death.” The blunet mutters out with an annoyed huff, turning his gaze away from Ichigo.

”Well I am _not_ him.”

Ichigo points out, gaining a snort from the man.

”Yer both dumb enough to ignore yer own shit while focusin’ on others who actually can handle themselves. Trust me, I've figured out by now that the way I had to deal with his sorry ass applies to ya as well.”

Ichigo couldn’t deny that, it was a bad habit of his. He just could not see that trait as a bad thing.

”Still though; are you absolutely sure about this?”

The blunet just gives him an annoyed glare, making Ichigo hold his hands up in defeat.

”Okay okay,  _I get it_. No need to mentally murder me in your mind.”

”I  **don’t**  do mental murders Kurosaki; I only kill fer _real._ ”

The roguish grin was a bit too charming for the context of those words.

”Just...you’ll take care of Nel and others while we’re away, right?” Ichigo had to ask; he was concerned for those three. Sure they’d apparently survived in the desert for a long while without outsider help, but still...

”Yeah yeah, whatever; m’used ta Oderschvank stalkin’ me anyway.”

Grimmjow waves at him dismissively, looking at the desert for a bit longer.

Ichigo examines his figure in silence, noting there was a heavy weight in his eyes, as if something was troubling him. Not that it was new though, the ginger just wished the man would at least try and open up, and he didn’t have to bottle it in front of the ginger.

“….S’ Shirosaki there?”

Ichigo blinks, then nods, reminding Grimmjow that his twin was pretty much always around when he was. 

 The blunet hums, and then turns to look at him with a stoic face.

“Call ‘im out.”

“Why?”

Grimmjow doesn’t say anything, just frowns mildly irritated, and a second later, a heavy aura lands on Ichigo, practically demanding Shirosaki to step out, so he did. The gold and black eyes look up at Grimmjow cautiously, and he rubs his wrist uneasy, taking a step back as the blunet walks closer.

“Uh… m’glad yer feelin’ better now.”

The pale figure mumbles out, barely able to look at the blunet in the eyes. Grimmjow remains quiet, just keeps walking closer, hands in his pockets, up until Shirosaki had backed away enough so he hit a wall. Grimmjow stops, trapping the slightly spooked figure between the wall and himself, examining Shirosaki with that same, eerily calm look.

Shit, was he mad at him for entering his soul?

Suddenly, Grimmjow grabs his hair and tugs on it lightly to tilt his head back, making the pale figure whimper slightly uneasy. The next thing he knew however was the feeling of warm mouth pressing against his, and Shirosaki freezes, before practically _melting_ against the blunet, who releases his hair to plant his hand against the wall behind Shirosaki instead.

The kiss lit all of Shirosaki’s nerves on fire, but before he could even begin responding to it, the blunet turns his head away with a slight curse under his breath, before backing away and turning his back to the confused Shirosaki.

“T’was fer Six’ shit from earlier.” Grimmjow mumbles out dismissively, not looking at him.

Shirosaki felt his stomach flutter as he understood the meaning behind that gesture; it was an apology for his crazed instinct trying to make him devour Shirosaki.

A wide, though still flustered grin appears on Shirosaki’s face, but he says nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

Ichigo checked through his stuff one last time, then turns to look at Urahara, who was waiting for him.

He’d told the man about Grimmjow’s demand to postpone the meeting, and the ginger couldn’t stop but feel the blunet hadn’t told his full reason for this. He did not like the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that this suspicion caused, but the ginger soon scolded himself for getting upset about it; while he and Grimmjow were on good terms - he was still trying to sort of grasp what was going on between them exactly to be honest - the man had every right not to tell the ginger everything he was up to.

Still though...

”Kurosaki-san, are you ready to leave?”

Urahara asks, snapping him out of his thoughts. Ichigo glances at the group of hollows watching them, noting that Nel had attached herself to the blunet’s leg again. Grimmjow did not seem to mind, or he chose to ignore it for now, just watching him with that stoic look on his face.

Another thing that danced in his mind was the thing that had happened with Shirosaki.

It had been…kind of sweet, but the ginger couldn’t shake the feeling there was more hidden behind it that what one would initially think. Ichigo had no clue what it would be however, and he knew Grimmjow would not elaborate on it, not yet.

”The portal is opening.”

Ichigo turns his head back to see Urahara’s make-shift device kick into gear, and after a moment of crackling and the air in the throne room shifting about restlessly, a split appears to the air, revealing a darkened abyss of sorts with light at the other end. It was different from the usual portals Ichigo knew of; normally it would instantly open to the human realm and vise versa.

”It seems the canvas between our worlds is thicker around the palace.”

Urahara explains simply, tugging his belongings over his shoulder. He nods at Ichigo and steps in, slowly walking towards the light. The ginger turns to look at the blunet again, wanting to say something, but unable to really voice out anything properly. There were still a lot of questions in his mind in a desperate need of answers when it came to Grimmjow, but there were more important answers to be had right now on the other side.

Urahara had promised to  _finally_  explain everything to him once they returned home, as apparently his dad needed to explain a big portion of it.

”...I’ll be back.”

Ichigo settles with that, gaining a slight, borderline amused grin from the blunet, but he says nothing in response.

With that, Ichigo steps into the portal as well and heads after Urahara.

 

 

 

The trip through the portal had been a strange experience; for one, the distance between two openings was much longer, or at least felt longer, than it seemed.

Everything around them was dark and wispy, and at times Ichigo could’ve sworn he’d seen movement in the surrounding blackness. It was highly unnerving, and he couldn’t understand how Urahara was able to remain so calm.

”You two seemed to have developed a peculiar relationship.”

Ichigo almost jumps as Urahara’s voice breaks the silence, and the blond glances at Ichigo from under his hat, slight amusement and curiosity dancing in his usually stoic eyes. The ginger frowns, asking what he meant by that.

”I have seen a young man stricken by infatuation and following confusion before.”

The man tells him light-heartedly, making Ichigo’s cheeks gain color slightly, and he glares at the older Shinigami irritated.

”How is any of that your business?”

”It is my business, because I care about you, Kurosaki-san. Perhaps you see him as more than just another monster, but you need to keep in mind; the main reason Ukitake-san wishes to meet with him is to see if he is a threat or not.”

Urahara reminds the boy firmly, though his voice was still gentle.

He knew that Jeagerjaquez had already entered into Ichigo’s protective circle, which meant the boy would not be happy about his words just now.

Which he wasn’t.

”If Grimmjow was going to attack us, he would’ve done it already!”

”He is clearly more intelligent than one might think at first, given his apparent impulsive and brash nature based in the description given to me by late Shiba-san. Even  _he_  sometimes admitted he was taken off-guard by how perceiving his friend was.”

”What’s that got to do with anything?”

Urahara sighs and adjusts his bag; the light ahead was slowly growing brighter.

”Impulsive or not, Jeagerjaquez is a tactician, though not in the same manner as me or Yoruichi-san. He doesn’t make out complex plans to reach his goal, but he is one of those who’ll exploit an opportunity if he sees it. What the worry here is, is that he might be using your care and... crush, to his own advantage to get back at us.”

The resulting outburst was to be expected, but he had to be honest with Ichigo about his thoughts, about how most saw his blunet companion like.

” ** _You cannot be serious!_**  If that’s what you were afraid of this whole time, why did you even let me stay there? Why did you bother helping Kaien in the first place?!”

”I had a reason. A good reason. There are things happening on the background you aren’t aware of. By letting you stay, I was hoping we’d gain more information on them trough you, and perhaps we could use this connection you have with him to our advantage in case he does turn out to be hostile, or if some...  _other_  things come to fruition like we're afraid they might.”

Ichigo just stares at the man, looking about ready to smack the living daylight out of him.

The only reason he didn’t do so was the fact they were still in the middle of this weird black abyss, and who knew what fainting in here would do to somebody.

”You took a big risk with that; I could’ve died if your paranoia turned out to be true.”

Ichigo mumbles out bitingly, to which Urahara actually smiles a bit.

”Letting you stay was not my decision per say; we discussed with Ukitake and Kyoraku san about it, who came to the conclusion that having a spy of our own stay there for now could prove to be helpful. They assumed if danger would rise, I could easily bring you back home as I kept an eye on you. However, then the portal troubles began, and admittedly we .... panicked a bit.”

Ichigo says nothing to that not too surprised to hear Urahara had been spying on him, just focuses on the light ahead.

He understood why their superiors were wary, but still....

 _Grimmjow_  was not the one who had done something wrong.

They had.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now both Berry versions got a smooch.  
> Boii the stuff that's coming....  
> I've said this before but this'll be quite the ride


	28. decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isshin meets his secret sonny  
> Grimmjow learns some alarming stuff

Grimmjow watched Kurosaki leave his soul, ignoring the complaining grunts and whimpers from his crazed instinctual side.

There was no way he’d let Six free until the bastard turned normal again.

There were a lot of conflicting thoughts going on in his head; he was still questioning his actions just now. He’d never expected the ginger to unload at him like that, and he sure as _hell_ hadn’t expected it to work.

It was just hard to ignore the sincerity in the shinigami’s voice when he’d poured his heart out.

Grimmjow had never known how to deal with such amount of care.

He’d been uncomfortable about it with Oderschvank already, and with Kaien later.

What had made him do that thing - you know, the _fucking thing_ he’d never thought he’d do with anybody, especially not in a way that apparently  _meant_ something - had been this sudden urge, almost if for a brief moment he’d let himself tune in with Six a bit more again.

Except, all the emotional bullshit afterwards couldn’t be explained with that.

Six was NOT in tune with feelings.

He got impulses, desires, and shit like that, not complex crap like emotions.

Neither he nor Pantera truly got that crap, it was always left to the master, mainly because usually you didn’t **need** most of it anyway as a hollow.

 

**_”Master.”_ **

 

The feline’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and the blunet turns to look at the white panther that walks beside him, brushing his side against his leg.

**_”I have something important to discuss with you.”_ **

”Ya said that already, cat.”

Grimmjow mutters out, scratching her head absent minded. The feline purrs upon the contact, but then walks further ahead, stopping to sit down under one of the bony trees. Grimmjow follows and sits down beside her.

Six had followed them with his gaze – fucking hell even GRIMMJOW was slightly freaked out by how beastly he appeared right now - though for once the thing stopped bitching at him.

Pantera rests her head on his lap, her blue eyes serious despite the affectionate gesture.

 

**_”When that Shinigami merged his soul with yours, I gained some surprising knowledge from it. I am assuming it was thanks to the bond you once shared.”_ **

 

Grimmjow says nothing; just talking about the bastard and the bullshit he’d done still hurt like hell.

 

**_”The Quincy he was warning you about; I learned who they were.”_ **

 

The blunet lifts eyebrow at that; Kaien had disappeared before he’d been able to explain what the hell that meant, so this was some grade A bullshit luck, to have Pantera somehow gain this knowledge.

 

**_”They are a rogue branch of the Shinigami, who follow Aizen Sousuke’s philosophy. They wish to completely terminate our kind to protect their own species.”_ **

 

Grimmjow felt his eye twitch, and his anger bubbled to surface slightly at the mention of that name. The slightly angry, low growl from Six indicated he was definitely feeling the instinctive urge to destroy shit, but Grimmjow didn’t let the bastard go on a rampage in his body again.

 

**_”I am concerned, that this arrangement of you talking with the leader of the Shinigami may bring them to us. If they find out one of the kings is still alive - albeit weakened - they’d likely use the situation to their advantage.”_ **

 

”Tsch. Just because they follow that bastard, it don’t mean they’d be as strong.”

Grimmjow nearly growls, but he remains calm otherwise, just scratching Pantera’s ear.

 

**_”Perhaps not, but...I’d rather not take the risk of losing you again. Besides, there is something somewhere in Hueco Mundo, that those Quincy might want to get their hands on.”_ **

 

Grimmjow frowns at that; what the hell would anybody want from such a dead fucking desert?

The panther looks up at him with a very serious gaze, and Grimmjow just knew he was not gonna like the answer.

 

**_”Back when Kaien fought against Aizen, I was able to witness it by using the bond between you two. Thanks to what I did that day, I was able to traverse the astral plane and witness what was going on around us. He was able to use Aizen’s weapon against him.”_ **

 

Grimmjow’s eyes widen, as he realizes what Pantera was getting at.

”That fucking _thing_ is still in here?”

The panther nods, shifting so Grimmjow could rub her belly. It was kind of bizarre, discussing such a serious thing while basically petting the damn cat, but Pantera did this weird shit all the time so he was used to it.

 

**_”Yes. Kaien got his hands on the Wishing Stone moments before his death, which is why he managed to de-power Aizen and destroy him with the cost of his own flesh and body.”_ **

 

That was...Grimmjow had no fucking clue what to say to that.

 

**_”The resulting explosion buried the stone somewhere deep within the sands of the resulting crater, and overtime it has likely sunken even deeper, but it is somewhere in there, in the deepest, darkest caverns of Hueco Mundo.”_ **

 

”So that’s what the Quincies are after?”

 

**_”Yes. We absolutely cannot let them have it. Those fools do not know the power they are playing with.”_ **

 

Grimmjow could fucking agree with that one.

”So what should we do then?”

 

**_”We need to find the stone, and use it to seal Hueco Mundo off from them once and for all.”_ **

 

For a moment the blunet just stares at the feline in his lap, expecting her to be joking. Except, she wasn’t. Pantera was not known for cracking jokes.

The fucking cat was bloody serious.

”.... _Why the fuck_ should I ever get near that damned thing that DESTROYED my home and nearly got me killed?!”

 

**_”I understand your thoughts about this, but it is only a sensible thing to do, that benefits both of us; with that stone, we can strengthen our borders so our world is no longer in danger of boiling over. It will also prevent any further attacks from our kindred to the human realm.”_ **

 

When she put it like that, it made sense, but still...

A sudden, loud growl interrupts Grimmjow’s thoughts, and they both turn to look at the chained beast, who’d stood up and was now yanking at his chains, hissing while glaring at Grimmjow as if protesting wordlessly. Fucking hell, the blunet really missed the usual, jackass of a chalk face this guy normally was when not in beast mode.

Pantera sighs and shakes her head, looking at the creature with pity in her eyes.

 

**_“It is sad to see him so completely lost within his own nature. Hopefully overtime Six will come to his senses, as much as an instinct manifest can that is."_ **

 

Grimmjow says nothing, then a frown crosses his face.

“….If I do that…won’t it severe this weird ass link I have with Kurosaki?”

The panther’s eyes flash briefly, as if she was displeased of him bringing this up, but eventually she sighs and nods lightly, turning her back to the still hissing Six.

 

**_“Yes. I understand what you may be thinking, but is the boy’s life worth sparing in the grand scheme of things?”_ **

 

Grimmjow’s mouth was in a tight line as he glares at Pantera, processing what the fucking cat had just said.

That thing... that fucking thing was STILL in Hueco Mundo? It had been here this whole time?

And now his damn Cat was telling him he should go dig it out so he could prevent some unseen enemies from showing up and kicking their asses - his namely. The result would likely be that this ONE human he’d sorta grown to give a shit about would go and probably die, just like the last one.

The worst part was that what she said _made sense,_ because of course it did.

She was his Reason after all.

By doing what she suggested, he could make sure no bastard would ever try to fuck up his home ever again, and humans could keep their sorry asses safe from hollow attacks. No need for demonic monsters, the fuckers killed each other just fine.

All with the cost of just one soul.

 

A Snarl and a powerful yank from Six had the chains creaking, and Pantera glances at him slightly worried now, before looking up at Grimmjow.

 

**_“If you absolutely insist on sparing him, there is a way; you can shift so the link is only connected to his other half. That way Kurosaki will be spared once the bond breaks.”_ **

 

She explains hastily, clearly attempting to find a solution that would please her master and prevent Six from yanking himself free as Grimmjow's resistance and control slipped.

Grimmjow blinks confused, then catches on on what the cat was saying.

So instead of killing Kurosaki…

The beastly Six growls loudly at them, making both figures look up at the beast, and Grimmjow noted alarmingly the chains were chipping and fracturing pretty bad, a manifest of his conflicted thoughts about this.

 

**_“Master, you must be more decisive about this! If Six gets out in that state, he’ll do even more damage and probably weaken you to the point those traitorous Shinigami can take you out with ease once they show up!”_ **

 

Pantera tells him firmly, her voice sounding borderline frantic.

Perhaps in the past the decision would have been easy.

However, it no longer was that simple; much to his dismay, Grimmjow was not only a being made of Logic and Instinct battling against each other. He was also a being of emotion, a detail he’d learned trough Kaien. Pantera wanted him to do something that was ultimately a good thing for everybody, as it could prevent a lot of harm in the future.

Six clearly wanted him to screw all that and be selfish, holding onto something he desired and potentially endanger others.

Before this would’ve been an easy choice; Grimmjow was nothing if not selfish, he knew that.

He would’ve followed Six’ route in a heartbeat, screw the masses.

However, ever since his friendship with Kaien...he’d begin to see even more value in what Pantera had to say. Even more so though, he’d also discovered a part of himself that didn’t listen to Six nor the feline, and this unknown part had more sway over him than either of them.

In other words; right now Grimmjow did not know what to do, and it showed, looking how his two sides tried to gain his favor, Pantera by reasoning, and Six by sounding like he wanted to rip his throat open if he went and agreed with the white fur-ball.

Eventually, Grimmjow loses his temper, and he spats at the two.

”Fuckin’ SHUT UP. BOTH OF YOU.”

Both Pantera and the chained Six turn silent and look at him slightly unnerved, as they were reminded just who exactly ran the show by the end of the day.

”I fuckin’ can’t...I can’t deal with this kinda shit right now. Ya both need ta give me time.”

Grimmjow tells the two, who glance at each other, clearly a little surprised that their master wasn’t taking anyone’s side at the moment. Normally Grimmjow would’ve picked one or the other already.

 

**_”Grimmjow... you do understand there isn’t much time? The Shinigami wish to meet you, and once the boy and his mentor return home, they’ll be bringing their leader here in a few days.”_ **

 

The blunet grumbles, informing the cat he was aware of this, and he turns his back to the two for a moment, trying to clear his head.

”How can ya even know those Quincy are a fuckin’ threat? All ya know about ’em is some wisps from a dead guy.” Grimmjow questions the panther.

 

**_“You of all people should know Kaien would never lie to you.”_ **

 

Fuckin’ hell, Grimmjow suddenly missed being alone, without having to listen to his panther nag and scold him like a fucking parent or a Nel-clone.

Grimmjow walks further away from them, far away enough so he could think in peace for a second. The man sighs and gazes up at the sky, trying to decide on what to do. What Pantera said made sense.

However, he did not… _like_ the idea of potentially killing Kurosaki or even just half of his soul.

He liked the damned human too much to see him die. He'd saved his sorry ass too many times by now, it felt like a shitty move to just turn around and kill him.

Grimmjow knew what he wanted to do, but the same time, that coal haired bastard had taught him to sometimes consider his actions a bit, whenever what he was doing would be the right choice.

Plus, he was aware he’d likely have to go find that damned stone regardless, before some sorry ass weakling found it and screwed everything up by accident.

 _Another thing._.. Grimmjow knew what that thing was capable of, and he also knew there was a risk in letting him handle it.

He had said he was not one to plan grand revenge on groups of people. That did not mean he wasn’t vengeful. Handing him an object that could practically make anything you desired come true... his chaotic, bloodthirsty brain could end up making him do something stupid.

Handing him something like this was akin to throwing a hungry beast a piece of meat and expecting it not to devour it.

Even if the meat was poisoned, chances were the animal would still eat it if it was hungry enough, and Grimmjow was pretty darn certain he might just be thirsty enough for revenge to do something moronic. As he turns his gaze back towards Pantera who was looking at him quietly from the distance, the blunet figures there was one thing he could do.

Postpone the meeting so he could think this trough. He was pretty damn sure he could ask the ginger do it, he seemed to be the kind of person to get people do stuff for him. The fact he’d been able to make GRIMMJOW listen to him was a testament to his persistence.

 

 

 

Convincing Kurosaki about this without telling him too many details was surprisingly easy.

The ginger was a stubborn one, but he was far more reasonable than some other folk Grimmjow had dealt with.

That thing with Shirosaki...

Grimmjow could tell the action was not influenced by Six one bit. He’d honestly done it out of this disgusting, pitiful feeling in his stomach that the blunet absolutely hated he was feeling.

Guilt, but not over what he’d said.

He was painfully familiar with it by now, and he wanted to STOP feeling so goddamn bad all the time over his actions. This one was worse because he hadn’t even done anything yet, it was the mere thought he might that was making him feel sick. Grimmjow hated it, wanting it to go away, but he knew it wouldn’t.

This was a part of him not controlled by Six or Pantera.

He couldn’t escape it by just leaning more towards the one or other, or tell them to fuck off for a bit.

This was something rooted deeply in HIM, the master.

It was part of him that was simply somewhat influenced by his companions.

A slight growl echoes in his brain, as Six still voiced his protest to the idea. It was rare to have him actually talk – well not literally talk, but you get the point - directly like this when Grimmjow wasn’t within his soul, which just demonstrated how split his two sides were in this.

Normally Instinct just sort of stuck at the back of his head, influencing Grimmjow with his vibes when needed.

Having him actually make his stance known more _directly_ was unusual.

The weird part was Grimmjow wasn’t even sure if Six was protesting because he still wanted to devour Kurosaki’s – or Shirosaki’s – soul, or if it was just the more general thing of the blunet not really wanting to kill either of them off for a change. For some reason he couldn't get a clear reading on Six' thoughts like he normally would have.  Perhaps because of the beastly form he was sporting right now.

Grimmjow says nothing as Kurosaki tells him he'd be back, just watches the portal close as Kurosaki and his companion fade from sight.

He knew he agreed with Six’ apparent opinion, but the problem was that he ALSO agreed with Pantera.

This was the first time he just couldn’t pick up a side.

Even with Kaien, it had been easy. Namely because both of his sides generally agreed somewhat on what to do. Perhaps Six’ beastly form was making it hard for the two to come to an understanding. It would be better for the fucker to turn normal ASAP so he could ACTUALLY talk to the shithead. However, Pantera was probably right that there wasn’t much time left.

”Why is Gwimmjow upset now?”

The blunet glances down at the green haired kiddo looking up at him with a worried look. Even in kid form she still worried over him when she should be more concerned about her own weakened ass. The whole thing was a riot, and Grimmjow would’ve normally laughed at the absurdity of it all, but he was still having a major headache, so he just tells the kid to bugger off and marches to his room.

As expected, the little shit follows him there, because apparently some habits would not go away, not even when she was shrunken into a kid size.

Her followers did try to stop her, but as usual, they were no match for her quick feet.

”Did Itsygo leaving make Gwimmjow upset?”

The blunet says nothing as he just slumps to his couch, arms behind his head and closes his eyes.

The kid lets out a huff, clearly not pleased at not getting an answer, so she climbs up and sits on him, making the man crack an eyelid to look at her mildly annoyed.

”What?”

”If sending Itsygo away made you this upset, why did Gwimmjow do it?”

The blunet says nothing, just grabs the green tunic - or whatever the hell that robe was - and flicks her off him, making her land on her butt to the floor.

”I told ya to _bugger off_ , kid.”

”Gwimmjow is mean! Nel only wants to help!”

The blunet lets out a slight annoyed growl as he turns his side to face the kid, his glare strong enough to shut the babbling little shit up.

”If ya REALLY wanna help, then fuckin’ leave. I’m having a bloody headache and you running yer mouth ain’t helping!”

The girl looks like she wants to protest, but that is when her followers enter the room and quickly snatch the child, apologizing profusely to the blunet.

”She is just worried about you, Grimmjow-san, but I understand if you don’t wish to be bothered right now.”

Pesche bows at the man, who just snorts and turns his back to them, waving his hand dismissively.

Maybe taking a nap would make the damn headache go away so he could think properly.

 

 

 

 

Ichigo was not surprised to find his friends waiting for him.

Rukia was about ready to gear up into a scolding spree, but the immense glare on Ichigo’s face shuts her up, and she watches as the ginger marches to Ukitake and Kyoraku, both of whom had been awaiting for his return.

”Ohh dear, he seems mad.”

Kyoraku comments, rubbing his head awkwardly.

”You BET I am mad right now! You let me stay there just so I could _Spy_ on him or some shit like that?! That is NOT what I went there to do!”

Ichigo spats at the man, then turns his glare at Ukitake just as the man attempts to ask him to calm down.

”Don’t YOU even start either; I went out my way to try and convince him that you two would not have any ulterior motives - hell I TRUSTED that you meant what you said - only to find out you were just using me as some sort of leverage or bait or whatever!”

”I understand your anger, but it is not exactly the whole truth.”

Ukitake attempts to calm him down again, but it seemed like Kurosaki Ichigo’s temper had flared in full force now.

”Whole truth or not, you have NO RIGHT to pull bullshit like this to him after what WE did.”

”To be fair, it was Sousuke Aizen to my understanding. We have nothing to do with that tragedy.”

Kyoraku mutters out, and then actually seems to shrink a bit as the fierce brown eyes turn to glare at him with all the fire they could muster.

” _Nothing to do with it?_ YOU KEPT THE LIE ABOUT IT ALIVE. We worshiped Aizen like he was some folk hero, my sister was a fan of him! He was treated like some sort of mythical warrior, when he was nothing more but a backstabbing murderer!”

”You’ve really sympathized with this king.”

”His name is Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez. Stop referring to him as ’king’ like he’s some piece on your damn chessboard!”

Ichigo spats at Ukitake again, feeling his body start to shake. He was so angry it was ridiculous.

”Ichigo...”

Rukia voices out quietly, unsure on how to react to the situation. Ichigo had told them about the true story behind Sousuke Aizen, but she still found it hard to believe. However, she knew her friend well enough that when he got this worked up, it usually was justified in some level.

”Don’t. Just don’t.”

Ichigo mutters out, then glares at the two leaders again.

”I **don’t** want to deal with you two right now. I have other things to deal with.”

With that, he whips around to look at Urahara, who sighs, understanding what the boy meant.

”Your father should arrive shortly; we’ll tell you the truth behind that hollow within you as promised.”

 

The atmosphere in the room was tense. Rukia and Renji had insisted on hearing this story as well, but Urahara had told them it was up to Ichigo to decide later if he wished to share it with them given this story would be highly personal, so the two had reluctantly left.

Ukitake and Kyoraku had luckily had enough sensitivity to understand that Ichigo really wasn’t ready to talk with them, so they’d left as well for now, allowing the ginger to deal with his own, personal situation.

The two did know what it was about, so it was not like the story would be anything new to them.

”I’m just going to start by saying; I’m glad you’re back home safe and sound.” Isshin begins finally, flashing Ichigo a goofy grin as usual.

”Are the girls okay?”

”Yes, thanks to you; they’ll be expecting to see you soon.”

Ichigo was relieved to hear this, but he did not let it tune down his anger right now.

”Now, as for why you are here...”

”What _is_ Shirosaki exactly? Why did I not know of his existence earlier?”

The two men glance at each other, clearly trying to decide where to start.

 **”Beginning.”** Ichigo tells them firmly.

Isshin sighs and crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair.

”Then I’ll have to go back to the time I met your mother.”

Ichigo’s eyes widen; how did his _mum_ relate to this?

”Your mum was...a part of a separate branch of the Shinigami which was exiled a long time ago. Their philosophy did not fit together with the rest of us. A Shinigami’s job was to protect, they wanted to destroy.”

Ichigo frowns at that; a rogue branch of Shinigami?

”That matter is... something we can only share with you with permission from Kyoraku and Ukitake san.”

Urahara informs him calmly, gaining a frown from Ichigo.

”It is not that important for the story; the point is, she was not really a part of our order originally. However, your mother did not really agree with their philosophy either, despite being born to a centric family of this branch. In fact, your mother was the last descendant of that family.”

”How does any of this relate to Shirosaki?”

Isshin remains quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

”It is because of your mother that you have that hollow blood in you. Their leader had conducted .... _experiments_ on her, wanting to strengthen her already latent power, though ironically he ended up weakening her physical state with it. That's why she got sick so easily."

Isshin takes in a deep breath, before continuing his story.

"She escaped from them because of this, and we took her under our wing.”

Ichigo’s eyes widen slowly; he would’ve never thought that his mother held such a secret.

”How had he...how had their leader even managed to get his hands on hollow blood? It usually turns to dust soon after you kill them.”

”Apparently he had found himself an ally in Hueco Mundo. A surprisingly powerful hollow with much more intelligence than most.

” Ichigo’s frown deepens; was there a near arrancar-level hollow running around in Hueco Mundo even now?

That could cause trouble to Grimmjow...

”Remember the day when your mother died?”

Ichigo’s gaze snaps back at his father, and his gut twists unpleasantly.

Yes, he did remember, no matter how much he tried to forget that night.

Why the hell was the old man bringing it up now?

Isshin remains quiet for a long time, clearly getting a bit emotional himself for mentioning this.

”That hollow that killed her... she recognized it as the same hollow her former leader had worked with. The hollow whose blood had been injected on her.”

The ginger just stares at his father in shock.

Now, when he thought back to it... that thing had indeed seemed smarter than most what he’d seen, and it had specifically targeted his mother. There had been easier prey nearby - including his child self - but the big thing had ignored them.

”His name was Grand Fischer. He was trying to bring your mother back to their leader, but the resulting struggle killed her due to her poor health.”

_Grand Fischer?_

Where had he....?

Ichigo’s brows shoot at his hairline as he recognizes the name.

”That....I _met_ that hollow! **He** was the one who kidnapped my sisters!”

Both men look at him surprised, and Ichigo proceeds to tell the story about how he’d arrived to Hueco Mundo, being captured, and how the hollow had tried to use him in some sort of ritual. He finishes the story off by describing how Grimmjow had killed him, though he avoided giving that vivid details. The two men listen closely, and once Ichigo was done, they both seemed speechless.

”.....I see. I suppose I owe that man one for saving you.”

Isshin finally sighs, rubbing his eyes.

”That is...peculiar. I can see why you are so adamant in defending Jeagerjaquez-san.”

”So...are you saying those experiments created the hollow blood in me?”

”Yes. You inherited it from her mutations. This is also why your soul has such an unusual form.”

Urahara explains this time, and brings out a slip of paper. He draws a circle on it, and the resulting explanation was familiar.

”Normally human souls are one whole thing, but yours takes traits from a hollow soul.”

He draws another circle, but splits it in the middle.

”Yours has been divided, somewhat like an actual hollow's soul would be, and this other half represents your hollow blood, Shirosaki as you call him.”

Ichigo frowns a little as he examines the drawing.

”Grimmjow’s zanpakuto spirit said that Shirosaki is some sort of... Instinct manifest, not a hollow.”

”Ah...well, they are not wrong entirely. Hollows are instinctive beings for the most part, so your twin does connect with your instinctive side more. You could say Shirosaki is a bit of a mix between the two.”

”How do you know about this hollow soul thing? I’m pretty sure Kaien’s diary had nothing on that.”

Urahara lifts his fan to cover his face, and for a moment Ichigo expects not to get an answer.

”Kaien was not the only one to study them, Aizen did so too before launching his attack. I managed to find his writings a while back.”

That was both a surprise, and a very disturbing fact.

”As for why you did not become aware of his existence earlier...when you were small, you showed signs of not being able to handle the power represented in your hollow blood, so we had no choice but to seal it away for the time being.”

”That’s...Shirosaki is _not_ like that. He’s only been trying to help me this whole time.”

”Perhaps now, because you yourself are older; back then he was as much of an infant as you were.”

Urahara explains.

”He still acts kinda childish though...I'm guessing he's so...clueless of his own abilities is because you guys sealed them away.”

Ichigo mutters out, unsure of what to make all of this. 

”Please understand Ichigo; we sealed that side of you away and never told you about any of this only to protect you. There was no telling what your hollow side would’ve done back then, let alone if we’d made you aware of it...who knows what could’ve happened.”

Isshin tells him with an unusually soft tone, and the ginger sighs after a moment.

He understood their reasoning, but he still didn’t like it.

”Well, it’s pretty clear to me now Shirosaki is **not** causing trouble now.”

Ichigo tells the two men firmly.

”Yes...it seems so.”

Urahara comments after a moment of silence, and he examines Ichigo curiously again.

”...Can we perhaps talk with Shirosaki?”

Isshin asks all of a sudden, and Ichigo looks at his father unsure; given what they’d just told him, their opinion of his companion probably wasn’t that positive, and Shirosaki was already kind of struggling with self-esteem issues and all.

”We won’t harm him in any way, Kurosaki-san. I believe your father just wants to see with his own eyes what kind of person this side of yours is.”

Urahara reassures the ginger, who sighs and closes his eyes, calling out to Shirosaki. Isshin nearly falls off his chair when his son suddenly bleaches, his hair and skin turning white. Once his eyes open, they were no longer brown, but black and gold.

For a moment, they just sit there in awkward silence. Then, Shirosaki slowly raises his hand.

”Um...hi.”

The two man glance at each other; sure, Isshin had expected many things, but not this. He’d full on thought his boy would transform into some sort of monstrosity, but this being was simply his sonny with all the colors drained out, and a distorted voice.

”I believe we met already.”

Urahara greets him with a tilt of a hat, and Shirosaki smiles awkwardly.

Yeah, they kind of had.

”So you’re the hollow that lives within my son?”

Isshin asks, his face in a frown, though it didn’t seem hostile. Rather, he seemed to be thinking about something.

”Kinda. I mean...I dunno what I am exactly....”

”I suppose the most accurate description is an Instinctual manifest that bases on Ichigo’s hollow blood rather than purely himself.”

Urahara explains calmly, clearly amused by how hard Isshin was trying to process this.

”Um...Ichi said ya wanted ta talk ta me...”

Shirosaki mumbles out, a little freaked out by the intense examining stare Isshin was giving him.

Finally, the old man relaxes and flashes him a genuine smile.

”I just wanted to see if what Ichigo told me was true. You do seem like a good kid like my sonny.”

Shirosaki blinks, not sure what he should say to that.

Urahara just chuckles a bit, shaking his head at his old friend’s antics.

”Shirosaki, now that you have graced us with your presence, I would honestly like to hear your insight on the situation, namely Kurosaki-san’s adamancy in defending Jeagerjaquez.”

The pale figure seems taken aback by the sudden question, and he just stares at the hat wearing man quiet for a long moment.

”Why woulda you need my opinion? M’just gonna agree wit’ Ichi anyway.”

Urahara hums, holding his chin thoughtfully. Shirosaki suddenly felt a little like he was being tested for something, and it was really uncomfortable.

”That is peculiar. To my understanding, usually with a split soul, the Instinct would try to win over their master, not agree with them instantly. They need the master to agree with them, not vise versa.”

Shirosaki had no clue what that meant.

”Ah, sorry. I just found your response interesting. I simply want to know if you agree with Ichigo’s stance, given to my understanding Jeagerjaquez tried to devour you.”

Isshin snaps his head towards Urahara, then turns to look at Shirosaki with a frown.

”That man tried to eat my sonny?”

”Nah, it ain’t...wait, _what?_ ”

Shirosaki blinks confused; Ichi was this man’s son, not him.

As if guessing his train of thought, the man flashes him a smile.

”You are a part of my son, which means you are also my kid.”

Shirosaki did not know how to react to that, so he proceeds to explain the situation like he’d intended.

”He was just off-balance, n’ coulda not control his instinctive side. Now that his Pantera’s back Grimm won’t do tha’ anymore. He never wanted ta hurt me - or Ichi.”

Isshin glances at Urahara, who nods briefly.

”That was the impression I got from the situation based on what Ichigo told me and what I witnessed.”

The black haired man hums, brushing his stubble a bit.

”Still, I don’t like that. What if that man will try to do something like that again?”

”Grimm _wouldn’t!_ He was fightin’ hard against it ’cause he didn’t wanna do it!”

Shirosaki snaps at them, then quickly closes his mouth as two pair of eyes look at his sudden outburst surprised. While the two were being friendly right now, Shirosaki was highly aware he was some sort of hollow, and these two were Shinigamis.

They could take his outburst the wrong way.

”I get it. It looks bad n’ all, but Grimm’s...he likes Ichi.”

 _And me,_ but Shirosaki didn’t need to add that part.

Isshin lifts eyebrow at that. ”What do you mean by like?” The pale figure goes quiet, wondering if he really should mention the kiss to Ichi’s parent.

”Ichi helped ’im a lot, I mean, he was ta one who took ta blade out from that place n’ gave ’im a chance ta get out. Ichi’s been supporting ’im emotionally this whole time n’ all. He tried ta keep ta blade away from yer hands ’cause he worried you’d destroy it.”

Isshin says nothing, just examines the nervous, hollow-like figure in front of him.

Finally, the man nods with an amused smile.

”That sounds like my sonny alright; always wanting to help people who are down.”

Shirosaki could fully agree with that, though he was a little confused on how quickly Isshin dismissed the fact Grimmjow technically almost killed his son. Sure being a Shinigami always had the risk of being eaten by a hollow and Isshin had likely known that when allowing his son to become one, but still...

”Thank you Shirosaki, you may go now. We still have things to discuss with Ichigo.”

Urahara thanks the pale figure, who nods and disappears back into Ichigo’s mind, letting the ginger take over. Ichigo had been listening to the conversation, and his anger had died down a little upon seeing his dad accept Shirosaki, though he wasn’t actually that surprised the man had done so.

Isshin had a pretty good intuition too when it came to people, in fact the reason why his was exceptionally strong according to some people, was because both his mum and dad had been good with it so he’d inherited it from both.

”You likely want to discuss with Kyoraku- and Ukitake-san later on about their visit to Hueco Mundo.”

”Not yet. I’m seriously still too pissed at them and might say something I regret.”

Urahara nods with an amused smile hidden behind his fan, not surprised by that response.

”I’ll be informing them about your wish. I believe they prefer talking things trough with you given how involved you are, before doing anything.”

”They better.” Ichigo mumbles out with irritation still clear in his voice.

 

 

 

His sisters near hugged him to death that evening, and Yuzu cooked him such an enormous meal Ichigo wasn’t able to down it all despite being deprived of food for so long. Shirosaki’s energy transfer was a really handy thing, and had apparently worked even better than he expected.

Ichigo had decided to not tell his friends about this whole thing with his mum yet, despite Rukia and Renji trying to coax him to speak about it. He simply told them he needed time to process what he learned before he could share it. As the ginger lied on his bed awake, it felt a little weird not to have Grimmjow’s presence lurking in the room anymore. He could faintly feel it through the still active bond, but given they were in separate worlds, it was barely noticeable.

 

_Yer sisters are nice._

 

Right, Shirosaki hadn’t actually met them before.

 

Ichigo smiles a bit, happy to hear his pale twin liked Karin and Yuzu. For a moment Shirosaki was silent, and then his lilting voice broke it again.

 

_Why’d your dad accept me so easily?_

 

”Dad has always had a good intuition when it came to people. Apparently I inherited mine from both him and ....ma.”

Ichigo explains quietly, his voice growing a little shaky upon mentioning Masaki. He’d refused to think about this for so long, but now that he had learned the significance of that faithful day even more... it was hard not to think about it.

 

_M’sorry ’bout yer mum._

 

”Oh hush. She was technically your mother too.”

Shirosaki actually laughed in his mind a little, though it was a sad laugh.

 

_Guess this means that freaky hollow bastard was my dad._

 

The ginger frowns, disgusted by the thought, and tells Shirosaki to never think of it that way. His twin hums as a response, but says nothing else. Ichigo couldn’t stop but feel something was off, so he closes his eyes and traverses into his mind-scape.

Shirosaki was sitting on the ground, gazing at the skies with a troubled, confused look on his face.

Without a word, Ichigo walks beside him and sits down, letting his pale twin lean his head on his shoulder again.

_”I dun get it Ichi... if what they told us is true... why does the old man keep callin’ me an outsider?”_

Oh, so that's what was bothering him.

”The old man? You mean my would-be zanpakuto spirit?”

Shirosaki nods, curling up a bit. Ichigo honestly had no clue why either.

A zanpakuto spirit was born from one’s own soul, a fragment that separates itself and becomes a new entity, though still connected.

That being said...

”You know, I haven’t thought about it before, but it’s actually kind of weird he already exists. Normally our spirits are properly born during the zanpakuto creating ritual.”

_”Well I dunno why, but he’s there. He was there already when I first became aware of m’ existence.”_

Ichigo hums, resting his cheek against Shirosaki’s white hair.

”Maybe I should try and get Urahara or dad talk about that too; they might know why.”

_”Maybe.”_

Shirosaki mumbles out, clearly lost in thought.

For a moment they just sit there in silence, up until Ichigo began to feel drowsy. He feels his mind drift in and out of consciousness, like it would when one lingered between sleep and awareness.

He noted that his surroundings changed between blinks.

At first, he’d been sitting on the street with Shirosaki. The next, he was back on his bed.

After third blink, he notes that Shirosaki was now resting on the bed beside him, cuddled up and with an arm and a leg thrown over him like a restless kid climbing on their parents while asleep.

It was kind of adorable.

That was still a weird thought to say about what was essentially a some sort of hollow, but it was true.

Ichigo shifts sleepily and hugs his twin back, resting his chin against the top of his head.

It reminded him of the times he still slept together with his sisters on the same bed, how they’d cuddle against him in their sleep when afraid or when they were having nightmares. Shirosaki was essentially doing the same thing.

 

The pale figure was quite content snuggled up in Ichi’s hold like that; it was comforting feeling amidst the chaos in his mind, that at least one part of ichi accepted him, and it was the part that actually mattered in the end.

He couldn’t really rest however, as something creeped at the back of his mind, and the pale figure sensed that something was going to happen soon, and he had no idea what it was, other than it freaked him out.

 

 

 

When Grimmjow finally woke up from his nap, he’d finally made up his mind somewhat.

If anything, he’d probably have to go find that damn stone, before some dumbass used it and fucked everything up.

What he’d do with it... that was still up to debate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter in need of edit finished. Again, main change was mainly for Six' part in the chapter, which naturally changed some of the dialogue and all.
> 
> Also.  
> Since the older note got deleted, I'm gonna mention this again; the wishing stone is the hogyoku or however you spell it. I decided to use that name for it as apparently the thing could grant wishes, and since I've been weirdly scarce with using the Japanese terms (it wasn't on purpose, it just happened for some reason) I figured might as well do the same with that thing.


	29. Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirosaki starts seeing things  
> Things that might turn out to be more real than he'd want

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTICE; for anybody who hasn't made aware of this yet;   
> The previous four chapters were revamped, and you kinda have to re-read them to get what's going on here. 
> 
> (This notice applies to those who've already red those chapters in their earlier form before Tenth of May, 2018 and haven't red the updates - newer readers and those who already checked out the story change can ignore this and proceed with this chapter)

That morning, Ichigo was woken up by his dad doing his typical morning routine - of jumping out of the window because he couldn’t hit the ginger.

” _What the hell dad?!_ It’s only 7.30 in the morning!”

Ichigo grumbles down at the man from the window, and Isshin gives him a thumbs up while rubbing his butt.

”I had to test whenever your reflexes had dulled in Hueco Mundo. Good to see you’re still as sharp as ever!”

” _Someone_ has to be with a dumbbell like you.”

Ichigo mumbles out grumpily, about to close the window when he spots another figure on the yard. It was Hachi-san, who was looking between the two with a puzzled expression on his face. Finally, he looks up at Ichigo, waving his hand awkwardly.

”Good morning Kurosaki-kun. I asked your father to wake you...I suppose this wasn’t what I expected.”

The man tells him apologetically, but Ichigo just rubs his face and tells him it’s okay.

”I’ll be down in a minute; make sure my dad doesn’t get anything sharp stuck on his butt while I’m not looking.”

The ginger closes the window, leaving the confused large man gaze after him with a puzzled expression.

 

_Who that?_

 

Oh, Shirosaki had awoken too?

 

”Ushouda Hachigen, Hachi-san for most. He teaches about spiritual energy. I had lessons with him before I left for Hueco Mundo and met you.” Ichigo tells his twin while tugging on some more clothing to be presentable, before heading downstairs.

Yuzu was already up, making breakfast for them all, including Hachi even though he’d initially declined the offer.

”What brings you here this early?”

Ichigo asks once he sits down to the table with a freshly brewed cup of tea. Hachi takes a sip from his, slowly lowering the cup back to the plate, before looking up at Ichigo with a serious frown on his face.

”Urahara told me about your little adventure in Hueco Mundo.”

Great, so now Hachi-san was in it too?

”I thought it was a matter meant only for those involved.”

Ichigo mutters out dryly, before sipping his tea again.

Ugh, it was _too early_ for this, whatever it was.

Based on Hachi-san’s frown, it was something serious and important, because of course it had to be.

”I was -and still am - your spiritual energy teacher, so I must understand my student in all levels.”

Ah, that made sense.

After an awkward moment of silence where Hachi drank more of his tea, Isshin and the girls decide to eat their breakfast in daddy’s giant bed instead, leaving the two to their important discussion. Once they leave, the large man puts his cup away and crosses his arms, looking at Ichigo with a deep frown across his features.

”The last time we had training, I sensed bits of unusual energy from you. Now I understand what that was about.”

It takes Ichigo’s tired brain a moment to figure it out.

”That time, that wasn’t me, _or_ my hollow side, or whatever Urahara would call Shirosaki.”

”I know of that as well; apparently the spirit possessing you back then is no longer a spirit.”

Ichigo just nods and takes a bite from his breakfast. He really didn’t have enough braincells awake yet to talk about this, but Hachi-san was clearly insistent this time.

”You have to understand; as your teacher, this worries me. You already have such unnaturally strong pressure for your age, and now knowing you actually have your own hollow even after that spirit is no longer possessing you...”

Ichigo slams his cup hard against the table and turns to glare at Hachi, really annoyed right now.

”Shirosaki **isn’t** like that. Hell he’s more of a harmless puppy at the moment, which is basically thanks to my dad and Urahara.”

 

_Hey._

 

Ichigo ignores that protest, just drinking rest of his tea down at one go, hoping the caffeine in it would wake him up a bit more.

”...I did not mean to offend you. I just want to make sure that it is safe to continue your lessons without any mishaps similar to earlier happening."

Ichigo pauses and looks at him confused for a second. Oh yeah, it wasn’t like they _ended_ the lessons, he just skipped town for a bit so to say. Ichigo gazes his food for a moment as he thinks about it.

”I don’t know, I mean, the only times I’ve seen Shirosaki loose it a bit was when we weren’t even in out own body. Besides he cannot really access his full power either thanks to whatever seal Urahara and dad put on me.”

Ichigo explains with a shrug.

”Yes they did mention that... which is why I came to talk to you.”

The ginger looks at the man with a confused expression, and Hachi sighs, rubbing his mustache thoughtfully.

”They believe that before they could even consider starting to undo the seal - as it has apparently stunted your spiritual growth more than they had expected - it would be necessary for you to gain proper control over what you already can reach.”

Ichigo blinks in surprise, and could even feel Shirosaki’s ears perk up - figuratively speaking - upon hearing that. They actually thought it would be safe enough to do that?

”Apparently Isshin and Urahara-san were rather charmed by your other half and feel he is not a threat as long as you hold the reigns.”

The man’s smile was amused, but there was a hint of that previous concern and suspicion there as well, which honestly, was understandable. Hachi-san had not met Shirosaki yet.

”So, do you believe we can continue our training without any risks of you being possessed again?”

”I wouldn’t call it possession; Shirosaki is a part of me so...”

Ichigo just shrugs, but then sighs and reassures the man that yes, it would be fine, and no, his mental hollow would not go berserk like what had happened when Grimmjow had possessed him.

Eventually, the man seems satisfied enough by his answer and nods, informing Ichigo they’d be meeting tomorrow once his lessons ended at noon, before getting up and thanking Yuzu for the offered meal as the family comes back to the kitchen, holding their empty plates. Ichigo wasn’t too sure how much of the food made it into their stomachs, as they mainly looked like they’d gone trough a food fight, at least his old man was covered in rice.

”It was good to see you Hachigen!”

Isshin pats the large man’s back as he brings him to the door, and the pink haired man justs smiles awkwardly, clearly not used to such eccentricity.

He’d clearly not spend much time in Kurosaki household, _especially_ not in the early morning.

Ichigo sighs and helps Yuzu put the dishes away.

 

 

 

 

 

Shirosaki followed the lesson from the sidelines curiously.

Now that Grimmjow wasn’t helping to maintain the balance, Ichi was again having trouble forming the needed energy bubbles.

On the other hand, he had much less energy to accidentally access, so no big bursts were forming. At times Shirosaki wondered if he should be helping, but the old man stepped up, telling him he should not intervene as this was something Ichigo had to learn by himself.

The pale figure noted that after this whole Hueco Mundo thing, the old fart had warmed up to him somewhat, though he still called Shirosaki outsider occasionally.

Ichigo had told his pale twin that once Hachi’s lessons were over, he’d go and ask Urahara about this whole deal with the zanpakuto spirit, as he was supposed to go there anyway to confront their two leaders for the whole spying thing, and hiding the truth for centuries.

Shirosaki couldn’t stop but snicker as another one of those glowing balls popped - or rather **_exploded_** \- in Ichi’s face, though he was still slightly concerned, hoping the ginger didn’t burn himself too bad.

 

**”He has a long way ahead of him.”**

 

The old man comments, hovering beside him like he often did.

_”He’s getting better I think; it lasted a whopping ten seconds n’ didn’t burn all of his face.”_

**_”I suppose so. Now that he does not have more... experienced being instructing him, he’s struggling again, though there is also no risk of injury for outsiders.”_ **

Shirosaki looks at the old man peeved, not liking his tone much.

_”Grimmjow didn’t really mean ta make ’im go berserk that one time.”_

**_”That does not matter.”_ **

The floaty old fart tells him simply, before floating further away again, seemingly losing interest in the repetitive training, or rather, in talking to Shirosaki.

The pale figure huffs and jumps down from the roof edge, landing softly on the empty street below.

He knew if Ichi would need his help, he’d sense it, so there was really no need to watch him pop energy bubbles over and over again. Not that the inner world was much more interesting to look at; every building and street was the same, and you couldn’t even enter the places. Shirosaki sighs and stretches his arms high up in the air, kind of wishing the place was more lively.

What was up with Ichi’s soul being this empty looking anyway?

While Grimm had had a vast desert, at _least_ there had been random trees to kick and sand monsters to fight.

A shudder runs down his spine as Shirosaki recalls their meeting with Grimmjow’s Instinct.

What did Pantera call him again?

Six?

That _thing_ was really freaky, though according to Ichigo, Pantera had implied the being wasn’t normally this monstrous, and had simply lost his marbles due to lack of supervision for several centuries.

Shirosaki couldn’t stop but halt in his steps and look at his hands, wondering if the same could happen to him.

Could he _also_ go loopy like that without Ichi’s guidance?

The thought was pretty scary, although Shirosaki also knew he likely didn’t work quite like the usual Instincts.

He was not only a soul fragment, but in a way, his own person, living inside another.

It was... _weird._

The wind picked up suddenly, and Shirosaki looks around, wondering if the old man had floated nearby, but he saw nothing.

Then, as the pale figure turns his head back to look ahead, his heart leaps to his throat.

There was... _sand._

White sand was slowly filling the streets ahead, almost like an invisible sandstorm was slowly filling the pathways up.

That or it was a giant sand-monster slowly creeping towards him.

Shirosaki backs away slowly, feeling as a heavy weight settled on him, the kind of weight that instilled primal fear into you. Suddenly he was reminded of the moment when the sand had covered him all over, sealing him into the darkness.

_”W-what the hell....?”_

The wind picks up all of a sudden, carrying a distant roar with it.

Shirosaki’s eyes widen, and then he sprints, turning around and running the hell away from the sand, that seemed to be gaining on him.

_”What the hell what the hell **what the hell?!”**_

He keeps repeating in slight panic, not knowing what was going on.

Why was the sand here?

Why was this _feeling_ here?

 

_**Ichi...** _

 

 

 

The ginger’s eyes snap open all of a sudden, and Hachi looks at his student confused. Ichigo had finally managed to create a stable energy ball, but it disappeared the second he lost his concentration.

”Hachi-san, may we keep a bit of a break?”

Ichigo asks, then doesn’t even wait for a response, as he sits down to the ground in a meditative pose and closes his eyes, slipping into his inner world.

It had become surprisingly easy now.

He looks around in the eerie city scape, then hears a familiar voice calling for him. Ichigo turns just as Shirosaki barrels at him, and they both stumble to the ground. The pale hands grasp his collar and shake the ginger, who attempts to get Shirosaki to stop babbling out so fast so he could grasp what was going on.

"Shirosaki, what happened?”

_”Sand! There was sand everywhere! Like Grimmjow’s soul. It was gainin’ on me.”_

The pale figure finally manages to calm down enough to explain himself properly, and he kept glancing around with wide eyes, while still holding onto Ichigo’s collar. The ginger grasps his hands and firmly but gently guides them off his clothing, telling the pale figure to suck in a deep breath.

_”I was just walkin’ ’round when I saw this huge pile o’ sand sneaking around ta streets back there. T’felt like somethin’ was watchin’ me...”_

Shirosaki mutters out, still examining his surroundings with wide eyes.

Ichigo glances around as well, but couldn’t see nor feel anything unusual. Perhaps Shirosaki was imagining things due to his ordeal and was hallucinating?

Could a soul fragment like him do so?

”Shirosaki, look at me.”

Ichigo orders him gently and the gold and black eyes turn to look at him again.

”There’s no sand anywhere, calm down.”

As Shirosaki took a second look around, he noticed that Ichi was right. The dreadful atmosphere was also gone. He looks down into his hands, his fear replaced by confusion.

What the hell was that?

”...Maybe you’re still tired about the whole thing? I mean, this is a soul-scape so maybe stuff you imagine can appear very realistic?”

Ichigo didn’t really have any other explanation to it, but upon seeing the dismay in Shirosaki’s expression, he wanted to slap himself; bad choice of words.

”Look, I am _not_ saying that you _didn’t_ see anything, I’m just saying maybe it’s actually  normal? I mean...I’ve only become aware of this place as of recently, so maybe it changes shape according to my experiences?”

Yeah, that... that could be it.

Shirosaki relaxes slowly, although part of him wasn’t entirely convinced about what Ichi was saying.

It didn’t explain the sudden familiar dread he’d felt.

”Look, let’s walk around together for a bit to see if anything’s wrong, okay?”

Shirosaki nods after a moment and the two get up to scout out the surroundings.

It was gone.

The pile of sand Shirosaki had witnessed earlier was completely gone, and his eyes widen in shock, darting all over the place to catch even a brief glimpse of the pale grains.

_”....I’m guessin’ I was seeing things after all, huh?”_

He finally mutters defeated, and Ichigo rubs his back gently, not knowing what else to do or say.

_”Yeah, must be it. If somethin’ was off the old man would’ve sensed it too an’ probably shown up...”_

Shirosaki continues his musings, sounding a bit embarrassed now. Ichigo still says nothing as he looks around in the empty city, with a frown. Had Shirosaki really seen something, or had he just been imagining it?

Ichigo had no clue for he didn’t know exactly how this place worked, let alone how their soul worked when it came to details like this.

”...I’ll have to go back to the real world. Hachi-san is growing worried.”

Ichigo eventually tells his pale twin softly, who just nods, and walks back towards the way they’d come from with Ichi, glancing behind him one last time. Still no sand, but Shirosaki couldn’t shake the feeling he’d seen something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once he was done with his lesson, Ichigo heads to Urahara’s house. He’d meant to ask about the whole deal with having his zanpakuto spirit already exist and call Shirosaki - an apparent piece of his soul - an outsider, but that idea was pushed aside upon him noticing that Kyoraku and Ukitake-san were already waiting for him there. Both gave him a cautious, tentative smile and a greeting, but Ichigo just sat down on the empty seat, a deep frown on his face.

”....Good day Kurosaki-kun. I hope your lessons went well.”

Ukitake breaks the awkward silence, and Ichigo gives him a curt nod, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

”....I suppose you have a lot of questions for us.” Kyrosaku-san continues.

”Yes, I’d like to know why the hell did you guys hide what happened back then, why was it even hidden the **first** place?”

Ukitake sighs and rubs his eyes, lowering the hand to the table eventually as he considers what to say for a moment.

”I believe... back then it was done to save people from heartbreak. Had the common-folk known that one of their most profilic heroes did something rather questionable...let alone have another hero die by his hands...it could’ve caused a great problem to the Shinigami image.”

”What do you mean another hero died by Aizen’s hands?”

Ichigo frowns confused, and the two men glance at each other, having a silent conversation.

”That hollow depicted fighting against Aizen Sousuke...that was actually your ancestor. Kaien used the last bits of hollow power he’d gained from his... I suppose a friend, to take Aizen out. In the end they both perished, or so we thought.”

Ichigo’s eyes widen as he realizes he’d known this already; Kaien _himself_ had told him he’d fought Aizen.

”Indeed, according to Urahara, his spirit lingered and aided with the task of releasing his perceived friend from the blade you had.”

”It is NOT a ’perceived friend’ Kyoraku-san. They were about as close companions as you two.”

Ichigo tells them snappily, and the two glance at each other again, feeling uncomfortable under the boy’s fierce stare. He was so young, but radiated so much power and...one could say authority, if he wanted to.

Ichigo was good at making old men feel bad, as Isshin used to say.

”Still...you must understand the thought process of your ancestors at the time; it was not only a great tragedy, but also an embarrassment, given what Aizen had managed to steal from right under their noses.”

The ginger looks at them confused, and the two leaders soon realize the boy didn’t know all the details they thought they had.

It was too late to hide it now though, as Ichigo’s glare was making it clear he could tell they wanted to hide something from him.

”There was...an artifact. Aizen used that thing to perform his plan. He could not have taken out so many powerful beings by himself without it.” Ukitake begins, keeping his voice quiet.

Ichigo leans closer, sensing he was hearing about something highly confidential now. Part of him felt bad for forcing the two to share this knowledge with him, but he’d gotten too involved already, and Ichigo was tired of secrets in general after the whole thing with his mum.

” _The Wishing Stone_ , as it was called, was a powerful crystal of concentrated magic that could make the wielder’s wish come true, any wish whatsoever.”

Ukitake begins his explanation, still keeping his voice quiet.

”It was kept tightly locked inside our vaults, but Aizen managed to use the trust put on him to get in and snatch it. Even if someone had seen him with it, they likely wouldn’t have questioned it given how trusted Sousuke was.”

Ichigo frowns, not liking that one bit; one should not trust a person blindly. ....then again he had put a lot of trust on Grimmjow, a man he barely knew.

He wasn’t exactly one to judge here.

”He also apparently had some special knowledge about the Las Noches palace as that building is called. Information he’d gotten from one of the kings directly.”

Ichigo pauses, then his eyes widen. So _that’s_ why Kaien had felt so guilty.

Aizen had gotten the info about secret passages from him somehow, which in turn Kaien learned from Grimmjow.

The blunet had put his trust on the coal haired shinigami, which had in the end partially helped the resulting tragedy to occur.

Ichigo turns his gaze towards the table as he swallows down hardly.

”It was not from a king. Aizen tricked Kaien into telling him where the secret routes were in the palace.”

Ichigo comments softly, feeling a familiar ache in his heart. He felt so bad for his ancestor right now; contributing to your closest friend's potential demise, even if unwittingly, it was an awful thought. The two leaders glance at each others surprised, but say nothing to that.

”....It was decided back then, that only those involved should be knowledgeable of all this, of the very existence of the rulers in Hueco Mundo. Knowing that somebody of our ranks was capable of such vile acts would have lessened trust in the Shinigami.”

”But why hide their existence _altogether?!_ Why claim the people that Hueco Mundo is nothing but a wasteland of demons when it wasn’t true?!”

Ichigo spats at them, feeling his anger returning.

”It was likely a hard decision to make. Your ancestor wasn’t the only one who’d grown fond of the Hueco Mundo leaders based on the old files we’ve been allowed to see.”

Kyoraku tells him quietly, a sad smile on his face.

”According to a statement from Genryuusai-sama who was our leader back then, the decision to hide all this from future generations was so no one would ever attempt similar foolishness again, let alone try to go and tarnish their memory by raiding the palace. You probably understand the more dire consequences Aizen’s actions had, do you not?”

Ukitake half-asks from him, as if unsure, but Ichigo nods for his surprise.

”Grimm told me about it; the balance thing. After they were taken out the whole place was in danger of boiling over because the maintainers were gone.”

The two leaders just nod, though Kyoraku lifts eyebrow at the obviously affectionate nickname the boy had given to the resurrected king. The ginger stares back at them challengingly however, so neither comments on it.

”Having a foolish person go and attempt to destroy Hueco Mundo from within would only result in a bigger problem, and having people know even the strongest hollows could be taken out... it gives birth to dangerous ideas.” Kyoraku comments, holding his chin thoughtfully.

Ichigo suddenly had a nagging feeling that those words related to something he’d heard, but the boy wasn’t quite sure what it would be.

”I hope you now understand the secrecy. However it is not the only matter we wish to talk to you about.”

After a long moment, Ichigo sighs and nods; he somewhat understood it now. The ginger was fairly certain it had mainly been to save the Shinigami image, but he played along for now.

”You want to meet Grimmjow. I’d like to know why exactly because I doubt you just want to ’learn the details.”

He looks at the two pointedly.

”....Well, we do have a fair reason to not exclude the possibility that he is vengeful towards us.”

Kyoraku shrugs after a moment, though then he gives Ichigo a slight amused smile.

”Though given how defensive you are over this one, he cannot be too bad. You aren’t the easiest to manipulate after all, given how stubborn you are.”

”Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.”

Ichigo mumbles out, shooting a glare at Urahara who’d been standing at the doorway the whole time, listening to their conversation quietly. The man just flashes him a sheepish smile before hiding back behind his fan.

”Well, it _is_ his job to be able to direct people even without them knowing.”

Ukitake points out with a slight chuckle, and Ichigo almost wanted to groan at that. Yeah, he knew that for a fact, but sometimes he hated how **good** the sand haired bastard was at it.

”We wish to speak with him to assess whenever he is a threat, yes. But do not think we want to become enemies. It is in fact the _last_ thing we’d want out of the meeting.”

Ukitake explains to the ginger with a firm tone, sounding about as sincere as he could, which could both mean anything and nothing at this point.

”Indeed, having an insider within Hueco Mundo could help us out a lot. Especially given the latest developments.”

Again that cryptic choice of words, Ichigo frowns at Kyoraku, but this time the man doesn’t budge. He just flashes him a sheepish smile, scratching his chin lightly.

Perhaps....

”....I have one more question to you.”

Ichigo begins, and the two look at him surprised and slightly curious now.

”....Before Kaien perished, he warned Grimmjow about something called the _Quincy._ ”

The way their faces went pale indicated the two knew exactly what that word meant. Ichigo just stares at them, waiting for the two to explain themselves.

”Why would he have warned the king about them?” Kyoraku muses out finally, glancing at Ukitake who was also frowning deeply now.

”Given their goal, and the bond those two apparently shared, it makes sense.” The white haired man sighs finally, not liking this one bit. It made the meeting with the resurrected Hueco Mundoan king even **more** of a pressing matter.

”What are they?”

”They are... a rogue shinigami branch.”

Kyoraku-san begins, but Ichigo’s mind already connects the dots.

”...My _mum_ was a Quincy, right?”

The two freeze for a moment, then nod cautiously.

”Yes. She was a highly skilled one when it came to her powers, but physically weak due to the experiments... I assume Isshin explained all of that to you already.”

Ichigo nods at the white haired man, his frown deepening. So that’s what Kaien had meant when he’d said Ichigo was connected to those people.

He was _literally_ related to them by blood.

”They were the ones who’d managed to gain access to some of this knowledge they weren’t supposed to, and follow the same line of thinking as Aizen had, that _all_ hollows should be eradicated.”

Kyoraku tells him seriously, and given what Ichigo - and his friends - had learned about the nature of Hueco Mundo, such a thing would be an extremely bad idea.

”Lately, they’ve been on the move again, and the rumors we’ve heard are troubling. It is another reason why we wish to speak to Jeagerjaquez, because we worry the Quincy might try and get to him first. He is the key to perhaps fix or at least help adjusting that world back in order, which could lessen hollow attack to our world, as well as reduce the risk of its energy slipping in here and causing unimaginable damage.”

Ichigo understood what Ukitake meant, he really did. It was just...

”Grimmjow does not want to meet you yet. He asked for two weeks time to readjust himself.” Ichigo reminds them.

”I know, but we might not have that much time to wait.” Ukitake tells him softly, and the ginger frowns dismayed, knowing that the man likely had a point, but the same time he didn’t want to break his promise to Grimmjow.

”It won’t leave a good first impression if you barge in before he gave permission to, and I’m pretty sure that first impression counts right now.”

The ginger informs the two matter-of-factly, a deep frown on his face.

”We understand that boy, believe me. It just begins to seem like we have no choice.” Kyoraku sighs as he holds his chin, closing his eyes - well eye, as one was covered by an eye patch - thoughtfully.

”Perhaps you could...speak with him trough this link you two seem to have?”

Of course.

 _Of course_ Urahara would have told them about _that._

Ichigo shoots another glare at the man, who just remains stoic in the shadows.

”Even if I knew how, I doubt he’d listen to me. Grimmjow was pretty adamant about this.”

”It doesn’t hurt to try, does it?” Despite the smile, it felt like Ukitake’s words weren’t a rhetorical question as there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

Ichigo almost wanted to roll his eyes, but the same time he appreciated the worry.

Think what you may of their secrecy and choice to keep up the tradition of lying, Ukitake-san at least clearly _cared_ for his subordinates.

”I don’t know, haven’t tried it yet.”

 

 

 

 

 

That evening, Ichigo sat on his chair, arms crossed and eyes closed deep in thought. He had been kind of quiet already during dinner, but his family for once hadn’t asked him anything. Ichigo had headed upstairs after finishing his meal, still thinking about all this new information.

So his mum was a Quincy.

Quincies were rogue, crazy shinigamis who wanted to kill all the hollows, not realizing that doing such a thing could cause an Armageddon of sorts. Or maybe they did know, they just didn’t care.

Ichigo had never met any to know how crazy they were.

The only Quincy he knew was his mum, but she had apparently been a rebel anyway.

The ginger sighs and opens his eyes to gaze out of the window.

He couldn’t stop but wonder now... how was his mum able to hide all this from him?

Was she ever worried those people would come for her or her child? If she had been, how had she hidden it? Ichigo sighs and walks to his bed, slumping down on it. Shirosaki had been quiet for the rest of the day, which was hopefully a good sign.

The ginger felt bad that he’d forgotten to ask Urahara about the whole deal when it came to the old man, but he’d just kind of been preoccupied with a tad bigger revelations given to him and Shirosaki hadn't really pestered him about it, so....

Ichigo sighs and flops onto his belly, burying his face into his pillow with a huff. Part of him kind of wanted to go and find Renji or Rukia so he could talk about this with them, but other part still wasn’t ready to discuss all these new details of his past with his friends. Not even Inoue, who was highly sympathetic person, Ichigo did not want to burden her with all this, the poor girl already worried over him enough. As he shifts to his back again, Ichigo gazes the ceiling and wonders, if he should attempt to contact Grimmjow trough the link.

He’d never done it before, never had such a thing with anybody, but the two leaders had made it pretty clear this meeting was rather urgent matter.

With another sigh, Ichigo closes his eyes, and focuses on the sensation the link caused, the slight hum and wisps of the blunet’s energy occasionally dancing with his.

Not knowing what else to do, he focused all of his mental energy to that feeling, sending - or trying anyway - a thought in that direction.

”Grimm...I know you said you needed time, but I really need to talk to you.”

No answer, which wasn’t a surprise. Ichigo sighs and opens his eyes, gazing at the ceiling again.

He really didn’t know how to do this, and doubted Shirosaki would know either. Suddenly, he felt a slight tug on his gut, and as Ichigo sits up wondering if he’d eaten something that had gone bad, a voice echoes in his mind.

 

_An’ I thought ya of all people knew how the fuck to keep a damn promise._

 

He almost yelped out loud in surprise, but managed to hold himself back.

 

”Sorry, I really didn’t want to do this, but Ukitake- and Kyoraku-san are kind of concerned about the long wait time.”

Ichigo thinks in his mind as a reply, gaining an echoing snort as a response after a moment of silence. Apparently having just one of them have a clue on how the hell you did this was enough.

 

_An’ people say I don’t have manners, impatient fucks._

 

 

Ichigo almost wanted to laugh at that, but he manages to keep it a quiet snicker. There was a strange shift in the air all of a sudden, as if Ichigo’s slight laugh had bothered Grimmjow somehow.

”Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be laughing, because this is a big deal to you, I just...that was legit funny way of putting it.”

Ichigo apologizes quickly, but gains no response for a long moment. At first, the ginger thinks Grimmjow had closed the connection, but eventually his voice returns, sounding quieter than usual.

 

_Yer makin’ this real hard for me, kid._

 

Ichigo almost wanted to groan. So now the ’kid’ was back?

There was a light chuckle in the air, and Ichigo shudders a bit as it sent a weird tingle down his spine, almost like someone had raked their fingers down its length. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, just strange.

”Look. They were really adamant about the situation. Could you even consider meeting them sooner? They fear that those...Quincies, or whatever they are, get to you before we do.”

 

_Those bastards can try._

 

The sudden hostility in his voice startled Ichigo, though the same time he should’ve expected it. Grimmjow was a prideful man after all.

”I don’t know if I can stop them from barging in if they really feel the need to. I’m really just trying to save their asses here.”

The blunet chuckles a bit, the low tone sending another chill down Ichigo’s spine. His mind suddenly drifted back to the kiss and had him wondering how it would feel like when Grimmjow _wasn’t_ under the influence of emotional turmoil.

 

_Ya just miss me already, Berry._

 

Grimmjow snickers at him, and had the man been there right now, he’d probably thrown a pillow at his face or something. Now, all he could do was send a mental image of his scowling face at the man, by looking into the mirror on his wardrobe’s door.

 

_Don’t work, too damn cute._

 

”Oh shut up asshole.”

 

Ichigo huffs out loud this time, then quickly closes his mouth, listening cautiously. There were no sounds coming from downstairs, other than his dad snoring, indicating his family was asleep.

”Really...can you at least consider it? I don’t want this whole thing go down to shit only because they want to do the meeting sooner.”

After a long silence, Grimmjow releases a slow, long suffering sigh.

 

_Fine. I’ll consider it._

 

There’s a pause in the air, as if the man was looking at something or otherwise preoccupied briefly.

 

_Gotta go._

 

Before Ichigo could even say anything to that, the voice disappears, leaving Ichigo alone with his thoughts again.

The ginger slumps back down against the pillows, figuring he should probably follow his family’s example and head to sleep as well.

..............................................................

.............................

.........

That was probably the weirdest long distance call for a semi long-distance relationship, or whatever Ichigo should call their connection as.

 

 

 

 

Shirosaki attempted to rest as Ichi had advised, but it wasn’t easy.

Each time he closed his eyes, the pale figure felt like something was watching him, inching closer when his eyes were closed.

Once the golden and black orbs shot open however, there was nothing there.

He sighs, wondering if he should go and rest on the upper layers of Ichi’s mind now, where he could sort of manifest beside the ginger. It wasn’t quite the real world, as only Ichi would be able to see and feel him.

However, that required a stable mind to work, and right now he was reeling too much.

He’d found a nicer corner now, on top of one of the tallest rooftops.

Shirosaki had come to the conclusion it was better to rest high up if he couldn’t go to the upper levels of Ichigo’s mind, as the air felt nicer there.

Closing his eyes, Shirosaki breathed out slowly and eventually relaxed.

One would have thought that lying on a hard surface like that was uncomfortable, but Shirosaki was used to it.

Plus, he got faint sensations from real world, so once he got drowsy enough, it felt like he was sleeping on a bed like Ichi was.

After laying there drowsily for a moment, Shirosaki felt something tickle his feet lightly. The pale figure cracks his eye open but spots nothing, so he goes back to dozing off. The feeling returns however, and Shirosaki frowns, slowly pushing himself up to see what the hell was going on. Did the old man start playing pranks on him now?

_Sand._

Shirosaki’s eyes widen and he scrambles up, backing away as the white grains rain from above, forming a pile on the roof he was resting on.

 

_”W-wha....”_

 

As he looks down, Shirosaki realizes for his horror that the streets were overflown with sand, as if there was a flood tide made out of tiny rock fragments.

He looks around frantic, trying to see if the old man was around, but as usual, the old fart was not there when he was needed. A second later, cold chill travels down his spine, as the wind carries a familiar echo with it; a distant roar.

Shirosaki backs away and jumps to the next roof, trying to get away from the sand that was now seemingly chasing him, spreading across the rooftops and dripping down and climbing up the building walls as if it was a sentient being.

_”Ichi!”_

He attempts to awaken his twin, but his voice only comes out a tiny squeak; the atmosphere had turned very heavy, making it hard to breathe.

_Seriously where was the old man?!_

Suddenly, Shirosaki stumbles in his feet and falls face first to the ground, quickly pushing himself up in shock upon realizing he’d sank his nose into a pile of sand.

Looking around, there was no escape; everything was now covered on the white substance, making it almost look like it had snowed.

Except, this wasn’t snow, nor was it cold.

_”It...t’s just a hallucination, right?”_

Shirosaki mumbles out loud, rubbing his eyes and then smacking himself, trying to make the sand disappear.

So far it wasn’t working.

_”C’mom Shi, snap outta it!”_

He tells himself, smacking his head harder until his ears rang.

Then, the atmosphere around him sort of paused, turning eerily quiet.

The wind died down, and the sandfall stopped.

Shirosaki looks around confused, hearing his heartbeat thunder in his ears. Then, he spots it, on a rooftop further away, and his body froze entirely. A figure stood at the edge of a nearby building, messy long hair dancing despite the wind seemingly dying down.

The whip-like tail swung behind the large form as if the beast was eagerly awaiting to sink his claws to the pale little prey it had caught sight off.

_”Oh shit shit **shit, why’s that thing here?!”**_

Shirosaki scrambles backwards, trying to get up but his legs were shaking pretty bad right now, making it difficult.

As if sensing he was trying to sprint, the figure’s eyes sharpen, and the beast leaps, appearing onto the same roof within seconds.

Shirosaki manages to leap off the roof just as Six’ catlike feet brush against the rooftop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo  
> Cliffhanger much?
> 
> MWA HA HA HA HA  
> I actually have the next chapter typed out already, but I am planning on drawing a pic for it, which'll be bit of a spoiler for the story, so I want to finish that illustration and then link it to the next chapter.
> 
> poor Shirosaki tho.  
> He's such a newbie bean here, but he'll grow tougher. He's gonna have a good teacher in the future.


	30. cracks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirosaki has a fight with a powerful furball  
> then things take an unexpected turn
> 
> NOTICE; I made concept art to showcase how Grimmjow, Six and pantera look like in this world, and you can check them out here: [concept pics](https://lumilasi.tumblr.com/post/173854126631/these-images-all-relate-to-this-longer-lore-heavy)

Grimmjow examined the area surrounding him; it looked no different from any other corner of the endless desert, but centuries ago a violent fight had taken place in this spot.

A battle that had cost his friend his life, even if delayed by the whole weird soul binding bullshit.

The blunet sighs and looks around, using his senses to pick up on something, anything.

It was a bit harder than normal given this was an instinct controlled thing, and currently he was keeping Six firmly under wraps.

Still, he could sense some hollows nearby, though they steered away from his path wisely upon sensing his power.

The little brat had been curious as to where he was going, but Grimmjow had just told her to stay with her buddies for now, not wanting to bring her out here in that form. Not because she wouldn’t survive - she had for a ridiculously long time despite that weakened state - but because he didn’t need a knee high toddler clinging to his leg right now.

”Ya sure t’s around here, Pantera?”

 

**_”I believe this is the area where the battle took place.”_ **

 

Grimmjow grunts and jumps down the dune, half-sliding down to the bottom. If one looked closely, they could see there seemed to be a bit of a crater there given the somewhat circular shape of the dunes around it. It was pretty big, impressively so. That compliment was aimed only at Kaien though.

That other bastard could rot in hell.

As Grimmjow scans the area again, he now senses that there was a cavern of sorts beneath him somewhere, though it was rather deep down. He could just blast his way in, but chances were the place would just collapse, so he had to find another way in to this part.

All caves in Hueco Mundo were connected. It was like this giant vein structure beneath the sands. All he had to do to get to the point below him was to find the nearest entrance and navigate the mazes a bit.

Any weaker hollow could be terrified by the prospect, given you never knew what lurked in there, but Grimmjow was literally the **_strongest bitch_** around right now.

He had no reason to be afraid.

Still... he felt dismayed about looking for this damned thing. Not to mention, that ’call’ from Kurosaki earlier, it hadn’t exactly helped his conflicted thoughts about this whole thing.

Having the ginger bastard actually find his choice of words amusing was very similar to Kaien, and at that moment Grimmjow couldn’t help the bit of fondness seeping into his consciousness.

He _hated_ feeling like it, though not for the feeling itself anymore; he just hated how it complicated things.

 

**_”I understand your distaste for this task master. Believe me.”_ **

 

Pantera comments gently, and had she been in a physical form right now, the cat would have likely nudged his side with her head in a reassuring gesture.

”Let’s just get this shit over with.”

Grimmjow huffs out as he searches for the nearest entrance. The wind was picking up, sounding almost like a distant howl of a beast or something. A stray thought entered his mind, noting that Six was unusually quiet at the moment, but that is quickly pushed away from his brain, as Grimmjow picks up a weak spot in the bedrock below.

There was a hole on the ground just few miles to the north.

Grimmjow heads towards the spot without a word.

 

 

 

 

Shirosaki kept running away, occasionally dodging slash attacks aimed at him.

He had no clue why Six was there, but the crazed Instinct clearly still wanted to devour his sorry ass, and for some reason Shirosaki couldn’t reach neither Ichi nor the old man.

Almost if all this sand was _preventing_ him from reaching the higher levels of Ichigo’s consciousness.

After leaping out of the way of another strike, Shirosaki skids to a halt, facing his hunter now.

**What was he doing?**

He should not be running away dammit!

This was an _intruder_ in Ichi’s mind.

Six stops on his tracks too and slowly turns to face him, tail whipping around behind him excitedly. Shirosaki grasps the blade on his waist and pulls it out slowly, not letting his gaze waver from the hulking beast. He was still shaking, but this was his home turf, which was why the unease wasn’t as bad anymore.

The atmosphere was on his side, even if it was being invaded by the sand around them.

”I dunno why’d ya come ’ere kitty-boy, but I ain’t lettin’ ya cause a mess n’ Ichi’s soul!”

Shirosaki declares to the beast, who just tilts his head, as if wondering what the noises coming out from his mouth were.

Was this guy able to understand _anything_ at all at the moment?

”I dun really wanna fight ya, given yer part o’ Grimm, but yer leaving me no choice.”

Shirosaki manages to keep his voice calm as he starts transforming. It seemed his form changing only excited the beast more, as it actually grinned wickedly at him. The pale figure wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but he couldn’t just let this thing do as it pleased.

So, once the mask solidifies itself properly on his face and the beast charges at him again, Shirosaki brings his blade up, blocking a strike aimed for his head.

He pushes the beast back by swinging it, actually letting out a bit of a battle-cry as he uses all his strength to knock the thing off from the roof, sending him fly trough the next building. Unsurprisingly, the beast is soon back on his feet, dusting himself off and jumping up faster than eye could see, giving Shirosaki barely enough time to dodge the kick aimed at him by leaping aside.

He swings his blade again, but Six blocks it with his arm, grasping the sharp end and actually leveraging Shirosaki into the air with it, kicking him hard in the stomach the second the white figure was above him.

Shirosaki flies high up in the air with a cough, only to find the beast appear above him now, landing another kick on his back that sent him flying fast to the ground, crashing against it and creating a crater.

The sand covering the streets did soften the blow, as he never reached the actual concrete, but it still hurt like a bitch.

Shirosaki quickly rolls out of the way as Six aims a drop-kick at him, sending a huge amount of sand flying all around him, the wave of dust blinding them both momentarily.

A sudden roar and the resulting pressure wave clears the sand however, and sends Shirosaki flying against a wall, shattering his mask with the impact.

It was no use.

Even on his home turf, he was _far_ too weak when comparing to Six, a frustrating fact that was quickly becoming _very_ clear to Shirosaki.

A bit of desperation began to rise on Shirosaki’s throat as the beast marches towards him, but he refuses to back down. So what if he was weaker? He could still use other things to his advantage to take this guy out, right? Not everything was about power.

Scrambling to his feet, the pale figure grasps his sword and holds it shakily, pointing it at the beast.

”This is MY place, an’ while I like Grimm, I **dun** like ya, so ya better get the fuck out!”

A bit of wind blew trough the street, disrupting some of the sand at his feet and blowing it away.

The larger figure halts in his step again, doing that weird head tilt as if examining the shaky figure for a moment. Then, that wicked grin appears again and Six charges at him, leaving Shirosaki barely enough time to block the sharp claws with his sword, one of them coming within inches from his eye.

”I told ya ta back off!”

Shirosaki near screams at the beast, trying to push him back.

Six already was stronger than him, and without his mask it was even harder to hold him back. His arms were shaking, not just from the fear but the sheer effort it took to keep those black nails from reaching his skin.

As the beast growls, adding more pressure to it, Shirosaki is forced to take a step back, and he knew if his back hit the wall, he’d be trapped.

”Get...offa me, ya crazed bastard!”

The pale figure manages to growl out, his voice remaining mostly stable.

Shirosaki had no clue why Six was there, but he had to push the beast back or else...

Suddenly, a wave of... _something_ hit him, and the next second, Shirosaki felt how a burst of energy entered his body.

He began to glow reddish, like back in Grimmjow’s mind, and as he lets out another growl, the smaller male actually manages to **push Six back** , surprising even the beast a little bit.

”That’s right! **_Get OFF ME!”_**

What happens next was nothing short of surprising; his blade starts glowing as well, and the next second, a blast of energy emanates from it, sending Six flying and _blasting_ trough the nearby buildings, the energy itself sort of digging into them, carving chunks off from them in a circle around Shirosaki.

_”What the....”_

The pale figure just watches in shock as large pieces of metal and concrete fall down all around him, and the sand on his feet retreats, until there was not a _single_ grain on the destruction area around him. It was so weird; he'd _never_ been able to release such a strong blast of energy before.

What’s more, as he looks down, Shirosaki notices that there was something on his neck; trough the blade’s reflective surface, the pale figure could now see the reddish symbols running around his neck like some weird magical collar.

”Is this...?”

He brushes his fingers over it, and flinches as touching the symbols actually hurts a bit.

A sudden growl catches his attention, and as Shirosaki looks back up, he finds Six dusting himself off, though this time clearly slightly injured, as he was bleeding from his head, and there was a nasty cut across his torso, although it was slowly healing already.

What’s more, the crown-like mask fragment on his head was chipping now, bits of it falling to the floor.

A slight grin spread across Shirosaki’s face, though he was still nervous.

He might have been clueless about a lot of stuff when it came to himself, but even _Shirosaki_ knew that for a hollow, the mask cracking was a **_bad thing._**

”That’s right! This is my turf now, ya can’t throw me around like ya did wit’ Ichi back then!”

Six just spits blood out of his mouth, a hand reaching up to scratch on his mask. He seems to pause then, as if realizing just now it was chipped.

”What, lil kitty’s now scared?”

Shirosaki taunts him, unable to stop himself. The gold and black eyes turn at him sharply, and the pale figure regrets his choice of words instantly upon that glare landing on him.

Except... Shirosaki notes abruptly that he didn’t look angry or frightened.

There was a hint of _approval_ in those eyes, as if Six was actually a bit impressed now.

Somehow, that sent a strange fluttery feeling down his belly, and Shirosaki quickly realizes it must relate to that whole thing Grimmjow was able to do with him. That dominant effect, the whole superior-underling thing, it stemmed from **Six.**

”Ya gonna scram or not? I dunno why you came here, or how, but—”

The beast is on him within fraction of a second, kicking him across the street. Shirosaki stumbled around several feet before stopping, coughing sand out of his lungs. Fuck, that thing’s kicks were powerful.

.....Then again he’d sorta known it already. He’d fought Grimmjow when he’d been under full influence of Six’ current state, at least if what Ichi had said was true.

Shirosaki still wasn’t too sure if this form really was abnormal and not just how this bastard usually was.

For a few seconds, he just gazes into the air dizzily, then his eyes widen, and Shirosaki barely manages to bring his blade up to block the claws aiming for him. They were at a stand-still again, only this time Shirosaki was pinned against the ground, not a wall. This was a scenario he normally _wouldn’t_ have minded too much with Grimmjow or any version of him, had the thing not been trying to kill him.

”Told ya, I migh’ like Grimm, but I don’ like you!”

Shirosaki spats up at the snarling beast, then in the spur of a moment, lets go of his blade with one hand to summon his claws on it, scratching Six’ face.

The maned beast groans and backs away, more bits of the crown-like mask falling off his face.

As Shirosaki jumps on his feet, he notes his claws had managed to scratch the skin beneath too, making him bleed from his forehead. The red really stood out against the chalk-like skin, but Six didn’t seem to be too bothered again, as he brushes the injury and glances at his hand, then just licks away the blood from his fingers.

_”Why won’ ya just go away?!”_

Shirosaki huffs frustrated, noting he was starting to feel exhausted. Not to mention, those weird glowing symbols on his neck began to burn again, as if trying to stop him from summoning forth more power.

As if spotting this bit of weakness from him, Six’ eyes sharpen, and the next second, a hand grabs his blade and yanks it off his hands now, throwing it aside.

**”Shit!”**

Shirosaki jumps far back before the pale beast can grab him too, but Six just appears behind him, kicking his back painfully, sending the smaller pale figure stumble to the ground face-first again. Shit, his head was spinning pretty bad.

Why didn’t the old man show up?

Or Ichi?

Was the sand really somehow blocking them so neither could hear his troubles?

An arm grabs him and throws him against a wall with a loud growl echoing in the air.

Shirosaki grabs it and stares down at the near mirror image of his own eyes, though the golden eyes staring back at him were more animalistic than his.

Some of the blood was dripping down Six’ chin now, leaving these creepy streaks across his face.

”Why ta hell are ya doin’ this? If you gonna kill me, just _do it!_ ”

He spats out with a mixture of frustration, anger and fear, reaching out instinctively to claw at his mask again. The swipe leaves deep gashes to the bony structure, but this time Six just turns his head to the side lightly with closed eyes, seemingly not bothered at all, like it _didn’t even hurt._

”Fuckin’ hell....why am I so weak? Can’t even.... beat yer crazed ass n’ my home-turf.....”

Shirosaki couldn’t stop the hysteric cackle from escaping his mouth now, and the tiny chuckle turns into a full desperate laugh, as the fight starts to leave his body, replaced by desperation.

The symbols burning on his neck didn’t help one bit.

 

_One more._

 

Shirosaki freezes and cautiously looks at the being holding him up, who still kept his eyes closed.

Did he just hear a voice?

Why was the beast suddenly standing still, not doing anything?

 

_Hit the damn thing once more, it’s almost broken._

 

”W-wha....?”

The eyes snap open, and a low, bone-chilling growl escapes from Six’ mouth.

 

_Get this fucking piece of shit thing on my forehead OFF me before I eat ya. Can’t hold back much longer!_

 

 

As Six suddenly raises his other arm to probably strike at him with the sharp black claws, Shirosaki quickly brings up his own and slashes at the fragmented crown on the beast’s forehead once more, and to his surprise, it **shatters** completely.

The next second, immense burst of blue glowing energy emits out from Six’ body, and Shirosaki feels himself be blown away by the fierce pressure wave, being blinded momentarily by the intensely burning light.

Eventually, the blaze turns down, and Shirosaki pushes himself off the sand, spitting sand out of his mouth. He looks around hazily, and eventually his eyes find the beast again. Except, he no longer looked like one. Six was floating several feet in the air, surrounded by a blue halo, but he looked _different._

Had it not been for the different clothing and the fact he was chalk-white like Shirosaki, one could’ve mistaken him for Grimmjow. That, and when he looked closely, Shirosaki noted his hair was shorter too.

Another bizarre thing he soon realizes, was the fact Six had similar glowing symbols around his neck like he did, except they weren’t red but _blue,_ and were slowly disappearing, one by one.

As the light eventually dims, Six floats back to the ground, landing softly, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, an energy burst from his body sent rest of the sand flying, clearing most of the area almost completely.

”What the....”

Six’ eyes snap open, and they were similar to before, except rounder and less animalistic now.

Basically, now they were _identical_ to his.

The taller male brings his hands up quietly and seems to check on himself as if unable to believe what he was seeing. Then, a wide, borderline twisted grin spreads on Six’ face, and the freak starts _**laughing.**_

It was the scariest thing Shirosaki had ever heard, and he had heard GRIMMJOW laugh, and that was freaky as hell too.

Well, now he knew where that came from.

_”Fuckin’ finally! Those fucking bastards will pay for this goddamn bullshit trick.”_

Six declares after a moment of cackling like a madman, then suddenly brings his hand up and actually fires a fucking _cero_ to destroy the nearest building, making Shirosaki almost yelp out loud and dive for cover, even if the blast wasn’t aimed anywhere near his direction.

 

_”Fuck, that feels **good!** T’s Nice ta be able to fuckin’ CHOOSE when I do that!” _

 

The man grins as he clenches his fist a few times, then actually kicks the nearest building rubble, making it grumble to smaller bits, sending pieces of it flying in the air. He was emitting out bursts of manic energy, which felt both different and similar to what Shirosaki had sensed before.

It was **raw** power, but felt more controlled now.

Shirosaki just watches him destroy shit for about five minutes in utter shock, up until the pale figure finally realizes that maybe he should stop the crazy bastard before the whole landscape was reduced to piles of debris. Who knew what damage his rampage could do to Ichi’s soul.

As Shirosaki gets up and opens his mouth to call Six out however, the man suddenly whips around and turns to stare at him.

This was... it felt similar to the authoritarian stare-down he’d gotten from Grimmjow, as it had a level of dominance to it, but it did not really feel like a superior staring down a subordinate. It felt more like a cub facing off against an adult wolf - or a panther in this case.

_”Not bad, fer a sealed Instinct that is.”_

Six tells him with a wide, approving grin, and Shirosaki felt his body flutter again, pleased about that compliment, but he keeps his expression stable, frowning.

”What ta hell’s going on?”

As soon as those words leave his mouth, Shirosaki suddenly noticed his vision was a bit blurry on the edges, and he starts swaying.

Shit, how much energy had he used in that fight? Before he could hit the ground however, a strong arm wraps around him, and Shirosaki felt his face collide against something radiating a lot of heat.

 _Holy shit_ , even Grimm himself didn’t feel this warm.

_”Fuck, yer cold; that damn thing’s really takin’ a toll on ya, ain’t it?”_

He could hear Six comment, but couldn’t understand his words; his brain was too overtaken by the immense warmth he was enveloped in, and it dulled all of his senses, to the point it almost felt like the heat the older male radiated was some sort of sedative.

Then, Shirosaki freezes as he suddenly feels Six press his nose against his neck, and for a second he is certain the freak was going to eat him after all.

Instead, Six just breathes in deeply, dragging his nose up until he reached Shirosaki’s ear.

_”Can’t blame m’self fer wantin’ ta eat ya in that state honestly, you smell fucking **delicious.** ”_

The low, purring tone made Shirosaki shiver lightly, and the hot breath brushing against his skin didn’t help much either. His brain was slowing to a halt, and Shirosaki found himself leaning into the warmth, unable to stop himself.

Why was Six so... _hot?_

As in, literally, it felt like he was leaning against a furnace.

A relatively soft, non-burn inducing comfy furnace, but still.

He almost yelps in surprise as a tongue flicks his ear, before Six buries his nose against the crook of his neck for a moment again with a groan that didn’t really sound that appropriate outside a bedroom setting.

The violent, bloodthirsty aura from before was gone, replaced by what almost felt like physical touches caressing his skin, and it felt so bizarre and good, that his legs were shaking for a whole  _other_ reason now.

”...I didn’t know ya could talk...”

Shirosaki manages to stutter out, trying his best to not whimper out loud; the way the older Instinct was holding him right now, and what his aura was doing right now was really making a mess in his mind. Six finally moves back with an annoyed glare, but the strong arm remained wrapped around the smaller chalk-white figure, keeping him firmly trapped in the enticing warmth, as if he knew Shirosaki found it comforting.

 

Or he just made sure the smaller one wouldn't sprint.

 

_” **Of course** I fuckin’ talk, dumbass. All Instincts do; how ta hell ya think we can fuckin’ guide our masters if we cannot even form a damn sentence. It ain’t actually normal fer us to be just a bunch o’ hulking beasts like what ya saw just now. Even Instincts have some form o’ logic behind ’em usually.” _

”Oh...?”

Six grunts and rubs his eyes with his free hand, clearly annoyed by Shirosaki’s lack of knowledge on something that was apparently supposed to be obvious. He seems to hold back the urge to bitch at the shorter male for it however, as he moves on quickly.

_”Those bastards put a seal on me so I coulda not rat ’em out. Too bad fer them that even in a crazed state I can still try n’ protect my fucking master.”_

He frowns and glares down at Shirosaki, making the pale figure shrink a bit, metaphorically speaking.

_”Thanks fer that by the way. Because ya two just HAD to bring the damn cat to ’im, now we’re in deep shit.”_

”Pantera? She asked us ta help ’er cause ya were goin’ all crazy an’ shit!”

Six lets out another one of those laughs, except this one was a much colder one, and the next second a hand grasps Shirosaki’s throat again, though it didn’t squeeze. It was a weird combo, having that arm wrapped around him in a borderline affectionate manner, yet also have the man grasp his throat as a form of silent threat, glaring down at Shirosaki with the kind of intensity that could burn holes trough one’s skull.

_”Thank yer luck m’ master has deemed both of ya too fuckable to kill. M’ **not** gonna stand here an’ let a fuckin clueless BRAT like  you act like I’M the fucking bad guy here, when you **don’t know what the hell’s going on!** ” _

Shirosaki’s frown falters as the taller male glares at him intensely, but after a moment Six’ gaze tunes down and he sighs, letting go of Shirosaki completely, though his long fingers do linger on the smaller male’s hip briefly.

Shirosaki hates the fact he misses the burning hot warmth almost instantly, but doesn’t voice his complaint.

_”Listen ta me, Shi; that thing that’s currently whispering bullshit onto my master’s ear ain’t what ya think she is.”_

Shi? Since when this guy was allowed to give him a nickname?

_”Ya don’t get ta choose what I call ya, **weakling.** ”_

Six growls at him, making the atmosphere around them very heavy with dominion for a second, and the pale figure tenses a bit, nodding after a moment with his eyes wide.

Six relaxes the aura around him, satisfied with that answer.

_”That thing **ain’t** Pantera.”_

”...What?!”

_”Pay attention now, ’cause I ain’t got much time to talk before I need to go back. If that fake bitch notices m’gone...”_

Six glances around as if expecting to see the panther jump at him, before turning his intense gaze back at Shirosaki.

_”When that bastard took the zanpakuto from yer master, they didn’t just prepare it for that ritual that ended up saving ours. That weakling gave it to a bunch of humans for a bit an’ they did something ta her. Pantera would NEVER fuckin’ propose the shit she did just now fer Grimmjow, it’s too fuckin’ paranoid fer her. I **know** my fucking partner, I’ve dealt with her nagging since I was born!”_

”.....What did she propose?”

_”That thing Aizen used ta wipe ’em out, it’s still there, in Hueco Mundo. She told master to go an’ find it and use it ta seal Hueco Mundo off from yer world.”_

Shirosaki’s eyes widen; he didn’t know exactly what the hell that meant, but it sounded serious.

Suddenly, Six grabs his shoulders to have his full attention, as if Shirosaki wasn’t entirely focused on him already.

_”If Grimmjow does that, either you or yer master will drop dead, ’cause severing a soul bond like that s’ usually lethal. Ta only reason why my master didn't drop dead when Kaien died was because of this whole seal mumbo-jumbo was going on.” _

The golden eyes widen in shock, and for a good moment, Shirosaki lost his voice completely.

_”You NEED to fuckin’ come ta Hueco Mundo n’ stop ’im! I coulda not warn ’im because those same bastards that fucked with Pantera also put that damn seal on **me.** Even if I go back now, it’s just gonna reactivate and force me in that beastly state again the second I step back into his damn soul.” _

Shirosaki licks his lips nervously after a moment, finally finding his voice.

”So that’s why you came here? Ya hoped you could...”

Six nods with a deep frown on his face.

_”That link yer master shares with mine proved useful fer me too; just cause I wasn't fully in control, it don't mean I wasn't **aware** of what the hell's goin' on around me. I figured he'd likely listen ta you two, an' I thought gettin’ away from Grimmjow’s soul coulda clear my head more from the beastly state they forced me in. It sorta worked, but wasn’t enough."_

Six pauses, flashing him a slight rogueish smirk.

_"I didn’t plan on tryin’ ta kill ya, I just coulda not help it with that fucking whiff you carry around. T’s pretty damn tempting.”_

Shirosaki did not exactly like to be reminded that he apparently smelt pleasantly _eatable._

Then, the _approving_ smirk from earlier appears on the man’s face, and Shirosaki tried to hold back a shiver wanting to run down his spine. His body was too damn reactive to getting praise from a stronger Instinct manifest, because Shirosaki could tell that reaction just now was caused by that smile.

_”Luckily even when there’s a fuckin’ seal on yer power, ya could **still** rip my mask off enough ta break the seal, at least temporarily. Yer somethin' else let me tell ya.”_

”Temporarily?”

Six glances around again, the smirk quickly vanishing from his face.

_”I told ya didn't I? It ain’t entirely gone. I can bet once I go back, it’s gonna reactivate and turn me back into that mindless fucking furball.”_

”Why didn’t ya just reach fer Ichi directly?”

Six shakes his head with a frown, indicating this was again something about his kindred that Shirosaki should have known, but he didn’t.

_”No Instinct can talk ta another master directly, unless they come into this plane. An Instinct can only reach for another one.”_

Oh....supposedly that made sense in some way.

Suddenly, Six glances behind him, and Shirosaki could see what had him on edge.

The sand was creeping towards them, though this time it felt like it was aiming mainly for Six. The look of dread and frustration on his face felt extremely unnerving, given the general aura of confidence he’d sported earlier.

He clearly didn’t want to lose his mind again, but also knew he didn’t really have a choice; he could not stay here much longer, nor could he get rid of the curse put on him on his own.

_” **Come ta Hueco Mundo ya hear me?** Tell my master ta knock it off before he fucks shit up!”_

Six shakes him for a bit, enough to make Shirosaki’s head spin.

Then, his body was dragged closer to the burning hot mass in front of him, and if he’d thought the kiss _Grimmjow_ had given him had been intense, this was something else.

It was the kind of hungry kiss that left no room to breathe or push back, dominating in the exact manner Shirosaki found himself liking much to his dismay.

There was a frantic quality to it too however, likely because of the sand creeping closer towards them with each second.

As Six pulls back, he licks his lips with a devious grin, clearly amused by the dumbfounded, flushed look on Shirosaki’s face.

_”If yer master wants a similar one, he better get his ass moving.”_

Six releases him and steps back, and the instant he does, the sand charges forward and completely engulfs him, the fierce wind the movement caused throwing Shirosaki off his feet.

Last thing he heard was a familiar roar, as the older Instinct manifest transformed into a semi-mindless beast again, before being forced back to his realm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So  
> did you think Six was going to be forever an angry furball?  
> nooooo  
> That was not what the change was about.  
> I mean, he's still a hotheaded one, but no longer a furball


	31. suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo scrambles to rescue Grimmjow  
> He should keep in mind who Grimmjow is tough.  
> He's many things, but not dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaa sorry for the long wait on this one. I was so busy with my summer job/other personal projects on my Tumblr that I was more interested in working, that this fic got sorta pushed on the back-burner for a bit. Now however I got my writing vibes back, and hopefully the wait for the next chapter won't be as long.

Ichigo was woken up by an urgent call in his mind and he sits up, looking around confused.

Given the sky was still dark, it was clearly nighttime, and it takes the ginger a moment to adjust and realize the sound is coming from within his own mind.

”Shirosaki, what’s going on?” Ichigo mumbles out with a yawn, rubbing his eyes.

 

_Ichi, we gotta get back to Hueco Mundo RIGHT NOW._

 

”Why? Grimmjow told us he didn’t want to see us in a while. Knowing how strong he is, I’d rather not rub him the wrong way.”

 

_We gotta go, Six said someone’s manipulating ’im!_

 

The ginger frowns and digs into his mind to try and recall that name.

”Wait, wasn’t that...I thought he was just a growling monster?”

Ichigo questions dumbfounded as he finally recognizes the name, his eyes wide in surprise.

 

_Nah, I mean currently yeah, but it ain’t how he’s usually... Ichi! We dun have time fer this! Move your butt we gotta do somethin’_

 

Ichigo gets up and throws his legs over the bed, however by the time he is reaching for his Shinigami gear, the ginger pauses.

”Wait hold just one red second Shirosaki; what the hell happened exactly? I cannot just go and run out to the desert without knowing exactly what the situation is.”

His mental twin groans, but then sucks in a deep breath to try and calm down.

Shirosaki then proceeds to explain Ichigo all that had happened as quickly as he could, and the ginger’s eyes widen in shock the longer he listens to the near unbelivable tale. It...how could something like that be even possible?

Shouldn’t he have sensed something if a foreign soul fragment invaded his?

Yet he’d been completely _clueless,_ up until Shirosaki had mentally shaken him awake.

”Are you absolutely certain what you saw was Six?”

 

_I ain’t blind and dumb Ichi! I could recognize his spiritual pressure from **miles** away, it still drives me up the wall._

 

The ginger sighs and grasps his shinigami robe, tugging it on with a frown.

To be honest...he had no clue how to get to Hueco Mundo; the only person he knew was capable of making portals from this side was Urahara, and in light of the new discoveries, he wasn’t entirely sure if he should trust the man with this.

 

_Can’t ya operate his systems on your own?_

 

”I don’t know how, and even if I did, sneaking in there unnoticed is going to be hard, especially given there was a reverie planned later on. I bet Urahara is keeping an eye on things.”

Ichigo mutters out as he opens the window, not entirely sure where he should head to.

 

_Maybe....maybe **I** could do it? I mean, I am some sorta hollow, right?_

 

Ichigo pauses and gazes into the moonlight for a moment as he contemplates on that idea. In theory it could work, as Shirosaki was in fact, a hollow as he said. However, he wasn’t a typical one and had not opened a portal before.

At least...Ichigo had the image that the person who’d opened it for him last time had been Kaien.

Which reminded him...

”Hey...any idea why your more hollowish form looks like Kaien’s? I mean....he was just borrowing power from Grimmjow, it wasn't his own. Shouldn't yours look more like...I dunno, that bastard Grimm killed if he was the source?”

Ichigo hated that thought instantly, but it made more sense than what was actually going on with Shirosaki.

Shirosaki seems baffled by the random question, but then lets out a thoughtful hum.

 

_Dunno. Maybe ’cause yer related n’ all. I mean, he did give some of his power ta ya ta save Grimm. Maybe that has somethin' ta do wit' it?_

 

Ichigo couldn’t stop but wonder if that was really all there was to it; in the midst of everything, he’d not given this detail a second thought, but now...

The ginger shakes his head, knowing they didn’t have time to ponder this.

”Alright, I suppose you could try opening a portal; if it doesn’t work we head to Urahara’s place and figure something out.”

It wasn’t exactly a proper plan, but better than nothing.

Ichigo jumps down from his window and dashes towards the forest, hoping they’d find some way to get there quickly. If what Shirosaki told him was indeed true, they were running out of time. Then again, with all the shit happening lately, it didn’t feel like the urgency was anything new.

”He surely turned my life upside down.”

Ichigo mumbles out, unable to stop himself from smiling, even if he felt cold dread at the pit of his stomach once again.

 

 

 

 

The search so far had turned out with nothing; the long labyrinth like caverns were excellent at hiding whatever secrets put within them, and the blunet was starting to grow tired with this treasure hunt, especially given how he was still uncertain of what he was going to do with the damned rock if he did find it.

**_”I understand your irritation Master, believe me. But we must find it before the Quincy get their hands on it.”_ **

Grimmjow says nothing to that, just scanning the large dark cave he was currently in.

He’d blasted a couple of weaklings that had gotten in the way while exploring, but most knew to stay the hell out of his way. The blunet did not like being here; the place reeked of unpleasant spiritual energy, remnants of the powerful bastard who’d once stood on the ground above, battling against his fool of a friend who’d gone and turned into a complete monster before dropping dead.

The man halts in his step and grimaces, regretting going there again as thinking about it stung.

Not to mention, thinking about Kaien made him naturally think of the damned ginger too, which further shed doubt to the point of his quest.

**_”You really do seem to care for that boy.”_ **

Pantera’s tone was understanding as it often would be, damn mother-hen.

"What makes ya think 'm thinking about that lil shithead?"

 ** _"Your expressions are rather easy to read."_** The panther counters amused. Grimmjow lets out an irritated huff and rubs his eyes frustrated.

It was not like he could deny it either; it was kinda hard to hide the truth from a part of yourself.

Yeah, he _did_ care about the ginger, though what kind of attachment he felt, the man still wasn’t sure.

Was it really just some sort of obsessive attachment because the kid happened to look like Kaien? Maybe he was being soft towards the lil shit because his fucked up head had grown obsessive over the similarities during Pantera’s absence.

Except, that did _not_ explain the fact he semi wanted to fuck the ginger.

He’d NEVER felt anything like that towards Kaien.

Not even once.

It had always been this weird companionship where he bitched at the bastard, who just smiled at him no matter what he said, where they always had the tendency to cover each others backs, even if Grimmjow did it begrudgingly. It had almost become a nasty habit at one point, or at least that's how he put it.

Unique friendship apparently, that turned heads.

Another thing: Pantera was back now, but his weird attraction towards Kurosaki hadn’t changed.

It wasn’t like it was overpowering kind of need either; _that_ he could’ve choked off to Six being a horny slut again.

No, this was...it was similar to that weird gut feeling he’d had back with Kaien, only that it was laced with physical attraction this time.

Grimmjow had sunken so deep in thought that he did not notice the sudden drop ahead of him, not until he almost fell in.

Managing to stumble back, Grimmjow looks with widened eyes at the sudden, gaping hole in front of him. It almost looked like a meteor had crashed to the ground and sank deep into the crust beneath, except the walls of this hole were too smooth and symmetrical for that.

 

_**”This is it. The wishing stone must be down there.”** _

 

Pantera informs him, sounding slightly eager to go.

It was...a bit weird.

Pantera was rarely excited about things, it was Six’ job.

Maybe she was taking on some of his burdens as well now that Six wasn’t functioning properly.

”Ya sure? I ain’t exactly into jumping down giant gaping holes that look like Menos’ mouths.”

Grimmjow mutters out, examining the blackness ahead dubiously.

**_”Yes, can you not feel the aura radiating from the abyss?”_ **

”I can, which is why I ain’t eager on hopping down.”

Pantera releases a slow sigh, sounding almost irritated about his reluctance. Sure she could get mildly frustrated with his tendencies to be uncooperative, but he’d followed her this far dammit!

The fucking cat should give him _some_ credit.

As Grimmjow eyes the darkness below again, still not keen on doing this.

Why couldn’t he just leave the damned thing to rot down there? He seriously doubted any hollow would bother popping up here to dig up a glowy rock, let alone a Shinigami.

**_”I understand your unease, but this is an urgent matter. I don’t recall you being this much of a coward, Master.”_ **

The blunet opens his mouth to retaliate, when a sudden burst of.... _something_ hit his senses.

Turning his head sharply, Grimmjow soon realized what it was.

It had been _forever_ since he’d dealt with this, but apparently he’d spent enough time on the palace to tune in with it like in the past.

Something was threatening it, likely another wandering menos.

In the past he could’ve ignored it, but now the only other Espada available was in a toddler form, meaning he was the only one strong enough to deal with it. Glancing at the blackness, then back towards the direction the sensation came from, Grimmjow makes his decision and heads back out, knowing that the two dumbasses could never defeat a giant hollow like that, not when Oderschvank was in that state.

**_”Master what are you doing?”_ **

”Gotta go back; the palace’s being attacked by a menos again.”

Pantera did not sound happy about the news, but for Grimmjow’s slight confusion, she seemed more bothered about the fact they had to go back, rather than the actual issue of some giant lumbering bastard trying to wreck their home.

**_”...Very well, but once the matter is dealt with, we must return at once.”_ **

”Yeah yeah, just shut up and help me out.”

 

 

Grimmjow had been right, which wasn’t surprising.

For some reason, there was indeed a giant menos trying to reach for the palace.

Sure it happened every now and then, but given there had been an attack just _recently,_ it felt a little bizarre to have another one so soon.

Usually there was more time between the two assaults from these lumbering braindead things. Perhaps the sudden appearance of a powerful entity attracted those fuckers like light attracted flies or something.

Grimmjow arrives just in time, seeing a small figure of green fall off the balcony edge as the damn thing hacks away against it with its giant tongue.

Damn brat, _why was she so close to the edge in the first place?_

The blunet accelerates and jumps, snatching terrified Nelliel from mid-air before she could fall on the giant’s gaping jaws. As he lands further back on the ledge, the green haired girl clings to him, bawling her eyes out.

”That was so scary! Nel thought Nel was gunna get eaten!”

Grimmjow just drops her to the ground unceremoniously, and turns to face the confused giant.

”Go back inside, I deal with this thing.”

Nel looks up at him wide eyed, then shakes her head stubbornly.

”No, Nel is worried, that thing is big and and...Nel dun want Grimmjow to get eaten!”

_...Grimmjow?_

Since when was the kid getting his name right?

The blunet glances at her determined toddler face with lift eyebrow, but quickly turns his attention back to the giant, which was now howling at them likely irritated that the blunet stole his prey.

Kind of funny, a dumbass commoner bitching and whining at their King, but then again the dynamics here was different from humans.

Being a King or Queen in Hueco Mundo did not base on respect or status after all.

It based on pure, raw **power.**

A dark, sinister grin crept on Grimmjow’s face as he felt the familiar sense of bloodlust creeping in on him again. It was tamer than usual given how he was keeping Six at bay, but it was still there.

One could not entirely erase a hollow’s Instinct even if the manifest was bound or even destroyed. It just made it weaker.

”Go back inside, **now.** ”

He tells the kid firmly one last time, before marching towards the beast, his body radiating with his blue aura once again.

If Nelliel was going to protest, it all died on her throat as a burst of energy left Grimmjow’s body, and he lept straight at the monster, sinking his blade into it’s giant white masked forehead with a fierce growl that echoed all around Hueco Mundo.

Honestly, he was so fucking stressed out, that ripping something to pieces like this sounded _really_ appealing.

Pantera did tell him in his head to watch it, to not let Six have too much control.

The blunet slices a good chunk of the thing’s mask off, making it stumble backwards several, slow steps with a pained shriek. Grimmjow doesn’t give it much time to recover, as he charges a cero in his hand, blasting the damn thing right in its giant face.

The cero was not as powerful as it had been in that memory, let alone when he’d saved Kurosaki earlier - not letting Six aid him that much did tend to do a number on his power level - but it still did a significant amount of damage, obliterating almost half of the thing’s mask, making more blood gush to the ground like some macabre waterfall.

**_”Why are you wasting your time, toying with that relatively weak being?”_ **

Grimmjow frowns, mildly annoyed about Pantera’s comment.

What was with her and being condescending all of a sudden?

Yes he could be a pain in the ass and sometimes mess with his prey a bit too much, but right now the only reason he wasn’t destroying the fucking thing at one shot was because she herself told him to not tap onto Six too much.

Hollow’s power _did_ come more from the Instinct, rather than the Reason.

Six was a huge power source, whereas Pantera was the one to help him channel it.

As the thing swipes its giant tongue towards Grimmjow, the blunet leaps back in the air, effectively cutting the Menos’ long mouth orifice in half, resulting in another screech of agony.

......................................................

This did not feel right.

The blunet did not feel the usual thrill of battle like he would have in the past; he was not sure if it was only because of Six’ absence, or if it related to the whole emotional bullshit he was dealing with. Initially he’d gotten excited about the prospect, but now...

as he looked at the pitiful creature writhing in pain, soaked on its own blood, Grimmjow felt strangely _empty._

It was not that he pitied the thing.

It had **never** been in his nature to show sympathy to these things, when they’d happily devour his ass without a second thought, given they literally _could not give_ it a thought like that.

He just... didn’t feel like doing this.

It just _didn’t_ feel right.

Something was missing.

Grimmjow watches as the Menos manages somehow to pull itself back together, and it slowly starts to retreat, backing away while still leaving a bloody trail behind it. The blue eyes just watch it go, up until the thing dissolves into black inky goop, likely teleporting elsewhere to heal the wounds inflicted on it.

**_”That was rather...uncharacteristic of you, Master.”_ **

Pantera comments helpfully, gaining a snort from Grimmjow, who leaps back up to check on Nel.

Her buddies had found the girl already, and were looking at him with equally perplexed expressions. It was clear everybody had assumed he’d kill the damn thing. As his gaze drifts to the wide hazel eyes looking at him, Grimmjow almost wanted to smack her.

The brat actually looked _proud_ of him, choosing to spare the big creature.

It was the kind of look Nelliel often aimed at him when it came to Kaien, such as when he helped the dumbass Shinigami out, or allowed the bastard to help him. That look always pissed him off to no end, but right now he was feeling too....weird to even get mad at her. Plus, she was a damn toddler, he'd actually feel kind of _bad_ making her weep, even if he'd never admit it.

Damn Kaien for making him so soft.

”What?”

He nearly spats at the kid, whose expression quickly falters, and she hides behind her big companion.

Pesche looks puzzled about his reaction, and gives the man a disapproving frown. He says nothing however, knowing better than to try and argue with Grimmjow. The blunet sighs and rubs his eyes, glancing back at the desert.

”Are you going to go back and look for whatever you were looking for, again?”

Pesche questions him cautiously, and for a moment Grimmjow remains quiet, blue eyes examining the lonely landscape of Hueco Mundo.

”...Not yet. I need a fucking nap.”

Grimmjow mutters out, hearing an instant protest from Pantera, which he swiftly ignores, walking back inside the palace and heading straight to his room.

 

**_”Master, I doubt the fight with that thing tired you out this much.”_ **

 

”No, but running around the damn desert looking for a fucking thing I don’t really wanna find did. Gimme a few hours and I’ll go back.”

Grimmjow mutters out, slumping to his couch. He grasps his sword and takes it off his belt, lowering it to the floor beside him. While it did not entirely tune Pantera out, it did make her voice quieter for now, allowing him some mental space.

That was the negative side of this whole split soul thing; you were rarely allowed to be by yourself. There was always some voice screaming at your ear, telling you to do this and that. Grimmjow couldn’t stop but smirk at the thought; no wonder they were often times so crazy beings. He could almost envy humans for the blissful silence their heads could have when compared to his.

Then again, humans could work themselves up to a frenzy with their thoughts just fine, no need for an extra mind in their brain.

Grimmjow could still hear the panther reminding him about urgency of their task, but Grimmjow just turns his back towards the sword and the room, facing the back of the couch.

”I told ya; I need a nap. I’ll go get the damn thing soon enough.”

Why the fuck was Pantera being so impatient with this?

It was more Six’ style to be like this.

Was she taking Six’ role on her too now that he was bound?

Grimmjow sighs and shakes his head, figuring he truly did need a nap, for thinking about this would just drive him loopy, worse than he was already. So, the king closes his eyes and hopes this weird feeling of wrongness would leave his damn body once he woke up.

 

 

”The king is not responding to me as I thought he would. He is even more uncooperative than expected, even with this form.”

The black haired man just hums, not too surprised to learn this; based on what they’d learned of this returned ’King,’ he was not an easy man to deal with. It did not matter however. They’d get what they wanted soon enough.

”Just be patient; he’ll start suspecting something if you start acting too out of character.”

His underling nods and bows, before leaving the room to continue his mission.

Meanwhile, in the dark forest nearby the hidden building, two figures were heading away, trying to reach the Shinigami governed town. A silver haired man glances at the young boy beside him, unreadable look on his face. The boy glances up at his father, slightly concerned and perhaps fearful look on his face.

”Are you certain we should do this, father?”

The boy asks him quietly, as they reach the river and step onto a boat the man prepared earlier.

”Masaki left back then for a reason, and now I see what her reason was.”

He starts rowing the boat, heading away from the spot as fast as he could, before they’d be spotted. He had not wanted to get his son mixed in on all this, but Ryuuken knew that leaving Ishida on his own to their leader would be far too dangerous, especially once Ychwah would learn of his betrayal.

”We must warn the Shinigami, Ishida. It is what Masaki would’ve wanted.”

The young boy gazes at him quietly for a moment, then nods. He’d never met the woman his father spoke of, but had heard enough stories to know that his parent would not do such a drastic thing like this in her name if it wasn’t important. Not only that, after how he’d seen Ychwah react to his mother’s passing... Ishida could not say he held much warm feelings to their leader.

So, he’d decided to leave with his father, to go and see the Shinigami.

The boat vanished out of sight just as the patrol who always roamed these areas appeared on the riverside, the two being unnoticed by them.

 

 

 

 

Grimmjow woke up in a strange sense of vertigo.

A sudden wave of tingling hit his body, and all of his senses lit up strangely, as if trying to warn him of a danger that wasn’t there.

For a moment he just stares at his hands, trying to process the sudden influx of...whatever this was.

It felt almost if a switch of sorts had turned on in his mind, suddenly filling him with all sorts of sensations.

Namely those he normally associated with **Six.**

Feeling akin to adrenaline rush, sudden need to do something drastic, urge to move, to follow your impulses. It was gone as quickly as it came, but even so... it almost felt like something that had been missing had suddenly returned, and that was why he’d suddenly had a wave of this bizarre mixture of sensations and urges.

The blunet frowns and his gaze drifts back to the blade beside him.

It was strangely quiet in his head right now; perhaps Pantera had decided to take a nap as well, seeing he was not going to budge until he got his.

Turning his gaze back, Grimmjow stares out of the window to the endless night sky with a frown.

Something still felt...  _off._

He wasn’t sure what it was though.

Suddenly, there was an echo in his head. It sounded distorted, a mix between an animalistic growling and a familiar voice.

 

_Don’t trust her._

 

Grimmjow’s eyes widen, as he recognizes the voice.

_**Six?** _

The voice echoes in his head again, but then it turns abruptly silent, and a moment later, he could hear another, familiar one.

**_”Have you rested enough, Master?”_ **

Grimmjow remains quiet for a moment, slowly picking up his sword.

The second he touches it, he could feel the slight impatience from her.

Frowning, the blunet gets up and cracks his neck, rubbing it while thoughts raced in his brain. Had that voice really been Six?

If it was, why had it been so garbled?

What did the crazy little shit mean by his words?

**_”Master, are you alright? You seem...concerned.”_ **

The blunet freezes and then turns to look at his blade with a frown.

”....Nightmare.” He mumbles out, and for a moment, Pantera is quiet, before her voice echoes in his head again.

_**”I suppose given what has been happening, you’d feel highly stressed out. However we don’t have time to dwell on this. We must go and retrieve the artifact.”** _

What the hell?

Why wasn’t she able to tell what he was thinking now?

Normally Pantera could have easily heard his thoughts, but she seemed to actually _believe_ his bluff about having a nightmare. 

....Now when he thought back on that exchange earlier, it felt strange too; when she'd pointed out about him thinking of Kurosaki, she'd said she'd red his expression. Sure Grimmjow knew his face could be a major traitor on giving out his thoughts, but usually Pantera would say that she _red it from his thoughts._

What’s more... There was something off about her behavior, had been this whole time.

Did centuries of separation mangle the cat’s brain, or was this something else?

 

**_”Master, please stop spacing out, we have matters to deal with.”_ **

 

She really...she really couldn’t read him, huh?

Frowning, Grimmjow walks out of the room, walking past Nel and her minions, who watched after him concerned. The blunet ignored them, as he heads out and jumps down to the sands.

The bloodtrail was gone mostly, only small bits of the Menos’ insides liquid spread on the white surface.

 

”Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys really think Grimmjow wouldn't notice? (maybe, maybe not, I dunno I'm not a mind-reader)  
> He knows his damn cat better than anybody, of course he can tell if she's being unusually bitchy ;)


	32. Lost fragment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo tries to find a way to get back to Hueco Mundo, when he makes a surprising discovery

Ichigo was growing frustrated - a sentiment shared by his inner twin.

They’d spent the last thirty minutes trying to figure out how Shirosaki could open a portal to them, mostly just swinging the current blade of his around with _nothing_ happening.

They’d even tried with Shirosaki in charge, but that had not worked either.

 

_Maybe you’d need a stronger pointy stick fer this?_

 

Ichigo had to admit that Shirosaki might have a point; he still did not have a proper zanpakuto in his possession. You’d think with all these new revelations about him and his hidden power, the heads would be planning on letting him perform the ritual, but no.

All he’d gotten so far was Hachigen asking him to continue with the spiritual ability training.

To be fair, they likely had not had time to consider that, what with all the stuff that’s been happening. Still, it did not make Ichigo’s mood any less sour.

”This is not gonna work; we gotta go to Urahara’s house and use the damn machine.”

 

_We’re gonna get caught._

 

Yeah, Shirosaki was likely on the mark, but what choice did they have? What Six had told them... it sounded really urgent.

”Wish that damn furball would have given you more information, like how the hell we can go there in the first place?”

 

_He was busy tryin’ ta eat me n’ explaining the basics. I doubt he had time ta go into tiny details._

 

”Us needing a way to get there somehow isn’t exactly a tiny detail!” Ichigo grumbles out loud, kicking the nearest rock in frustration.

If only he could just use the link to try and talk to Grimmjow directly.

Except, he had tried that as a dare, and something was **blocking** them, further hinting that Six was telling the truth. It had not felt like how Grimmjow usually kept him from accessing his mind; Ichigo wasn't certain how he knew the difference as he wasn't quite sure how Grimmjow did it in the first place. He just...knew it felt different.

 _Someone_ did not want them to know what Grimmjow was up to.

Sure, it could just be his relative inexperience with soul connections like this - he and the blunet had shared one only for few months, most of it being unaware of its existence - but Ichigo’s gut told him this was something more sinister.

Tiny part of him couldn’t stop but worry for a bit; what if their link was currently blocked because this someone found out what Six had done?

Could you injure an Instinct manifest without injuring the host?

What if....

Ichigo shook his head; there was no point in driving yourself into panic. He had to calm down and think this trough. Urahara’s machine was really their only option, but Ichigo knew for a fact they could not use it secretly, and given the latest reveals, Ichigo was not willing to trust Urahara to know about what was going on.

While pondering this deep in thought, the ginger failed to notice the figure sneaking up on him, not until Shirosaki suddenly yelps out a warning, just in time for Ichigo to dodge out of the way of a snake-looking hollow’s vicious bite.

Jumping up and grasping his blade firmly, Ichigo felt almost surprised to see a random hollow out there; it had been so long since he’d been doing actual Shinigami work, that he near forgot these things did pop up at random in the human realm during the night to try and munch nearest humans for lunch.

”Shit, I don’t really have time for this...”

Ichigo mumbles out as he prepares himself, but before either could make a move, the snake is suddenly encrusted in ice, and shatters into pieces a second later, revealing Rukia and Renji standing behind it, latter with a confused look on his face.

”Ichigo? Why are you out this late? I thought the bosses weren't gonna call you on duty yet.”

Renji questions his friend, who for a moment just stares at them dully, like they weren't supposed to be there.

Finally he snaps out of it and shakes his head, not really knowing what to say right now.

Rukia was examining him with a suspicious frown too much to his dismay, and Ichigo could almost hear the gears turn in her head.

”You’re not being _possessed_ by a hollow again, are you?”

”I...no! I just...”

Ichigo had to take a mental step back; Rukia nor Renji did not _really_ know that much about what was going on, aside from the basic backstory Ichigo had given on Grimmjow.

The two also did not know about Shirosaki.

”Well, then quit spacing out and help us! There is another, stranger hollow around that we came to investigate.” Rukia tells him sternly, clearly tired of waiting to get an answer, with Ichigo just standing there looking at the two dumbly.

Ichigo blinks confused, and the short woman proceeds to explain.

”There have been reports of a strange, feline like hollow that has been lurking around; for some reason it hasn’t attacked anyone despite coming very close proximity to humans, even defenseless ones like infants. Our bosses are rather confused about it and asked us to look into it.”

A hollow that did _not_ attack people?

That did sound bizarre.

The only hollow Ichigo knew of that didn’t blindly charge at humans was Grimmjow, and he was in Hueco Mundo.

Well, him, **and** Nelliel and her friends of course.

”Do you have any idea on what it could be?” Ichigo asks them, and the two glance at each other,

”No, but...perhaps you have? I mean... you were in Hueco Mundo for a while, and we’ve met a few who don’t want to munch on humans.” Renji mutters out eventually, rubbing his head with an awkward shrug.

”We kinda wanted to ask you to help us, but figured we should let you rest.” He adds.

”I suppose we should have expected that you would not stay in bed regardless.”

The short woman comments with an amused smile and crosses her arms, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but shrug, smiling sheepishly. Yeah, he was known to not really be able to stay resting when he should. Rukia’s smile vanishes quickly as she turns serious again, and Ichigo knew she was not letting go of her earlier question of why the hell he was out there late at night, when he should be taking it easy.

”We are side-tracking, for you have not answered us. _What_ are you doing out here?”

Ichigo’s smile falters too, and he goes quiet, not knowing what to say.

How much could, or rather, should he tell them? They were his friends and he trusted them...but he wasn’t certain if they’d trust _his_ judgment right now. He did not need his friends making this more complicated, let alone inform their leaders of what he was doing. Yes, Ichigo trusted Rukia and Renji, but he DIDN'T trust their superiors.

 

_Ichi, we don’t have time for this._

 

Shirosaki finally pipes in, his voice growing anxious. At first the ginger figured it was just his general concern, but Ichigo soon sensed what Shirosaki was likely sensing, only ten times stronger.

Something was emitting trough their link, a feeling of **urgency** mixed in with the familiar sense of dread that Six caused.

The Instinct manifest was urging them to hurry up.

So at least he was alive still, good.

”I...I need to get back to Hueco Mundo.” Ichigo finally manages to splutter out, knowing this probably would not go down well with his friends without further explanation.

” _Are you serious?_ You JUST came back!”

Renji looks at him dumbfounded, and even Rukia’s expression turns into a slight state of shock, though only briefly.

”Ichigo, I understand you sympathize with that hollow, but-”

” **Grimmjow.** His name is Grimmjow.”

Ichigo’s tone is rather snappy without him really intending to sound like that, and the short woman goes silent upon hearing the involuntary annoyance in his voice, rethinking her words.

”I understand your...concern given what you described to us about events leading to this point, but he himself asked you to leave, did he not?”

”Yes but...look, something’s **wrong,** and I gotta get there to figure out what it is. I mean...”

Rukia still looked skeptic, so the ginger decides to try and reason with them.

”Look, Grimmjow is highly powerful hollow. You saw yourselves how much influence he has over the rest right now. If something’s off with him, it can be bad for humans too.”

The two glance at each other, and Ichigo could tell from their frowning, unnerved expressions that they saw where he was coming from. Yeah, even stating it out loud, the prospect sounded scary. In fact, it was really terrifying; who knew what the person misleading Grimmjow wanted exactly, in worst case scenario....

"Still, why should it be you to do this?"

That was a very good question. Ichigo pauses and gazes at her examining eyes for a long moment, before sighing, his voice resolute.

"Right now, I am the only one who he probably trusts out of us, because I am the only one who wouldn't stab him in the back. If someone is misleading him, the only person he'll likely listen out of us is me."

"And if he is just doing something out of his own volition? What if this feeling is just a trap he set for you? that man might seem very human and has been decent to you to a degree, but he is still a hollow, and has good reason to hate us based on what you discovered."

Rukia was sharp as ever, and what she said sounded reasonable to most. However, she was also wrong, and Ichigo frowns deeply at her words.

"You let me stay behind with him for a while without questioning it too much. Don't try to pull this conspiracy theory crap on me now, when it's clear that you trust in my judgment." He points out sharply, and Rukia falls silent, knowing Ichigo had a good point with that. She had in fact, let Ichigo stay in Hueco Mundo earlier.

”So you’re going to Urahara?”

Renji asks him after a while, and Ichigo looks up at him surprised, but then just bites his lip unsure.

”I...I’d rather not involve him; I...let’s just say I don’t trust him right now either, to not to try and meddle and do something I’d not be happy about.”

It was clear his response left things unsaid, and both of his friends looked at him with expressions that let him know they were aware he was hiding things from them. For his relief, neither tries to question him about it for now, and instead, Rukia sighs and holds her chin, likely thinking about a solution to the situation. Apparently she'd decided to not argue further with ichigo's point, realizing it would be futile given how stubborn the ginger was.

And he was right; she did have good faith in her friend's instinct when it came to people he trusted.

 ”Even if we could distract Urahara-san long enough, activating the portal tends to take at least an hour, and this feels like an urgent matter for you to run off in the middle of the night.” She made it sound like Ichigo was some damn toddler runaway.

The ginger doesn’t comment on it however, just glad she was considering on helping out instead of running to their bosses.

”Then why don’t we just _catch_ a hollow and force it to make a portal for us? I mean... we  are already looking for one anyway, and since this one apparently doesn’t attack humans, maybe it’ll be more cooperative?”

Both turn to look at the redhead baffled, who shrugs like what he just said didn’t sound ludicrous - and actually like a _damn_ good idea.

”Finding it won’t be easy; most people who noticed it had to physically see it. Even the Shinigami who spotted it hadn’t sensed it until it was very close to them.” Rukia points out with a frown.

”Is this one also one of those ’invisible’ ones then?”

Ichigo asks, not really liking the prospect of it; finding this weird cat could prove to be highly difficult if it indeed was one of those weird ones, and they didn’t have much time to waste in their hands.

”Perhaps, although the Shinigami who saw it did say it didn’t feel like one of those; the appearance of the aura wasn’t sudden per say, but more like one just didn’t notice it at first, like how you may sometimes miss things. Besides....after your kidnapping incident, we haven't really seen any of the invisible ones around, making it likely the hollow you dealt with had something to do with them."

Rukia gives him a pointed look and Ichigo frowns a bit; he knew now that it wasn't really the hollow, but rather the mysterious Quincy who'd been pulling the strings behind it. However, Rukia and Renji did not know about any of this, and Ichigo figured they didn't need to know everything, not just yet. So, he just shrugs, commenting on how he had no clue how the megalomaniac demon had done it.

In all honesty though...he'd all but forgotten about it, being too focused on his own inner twin and Grimmjow going bonkers, but he should probably investigate and try to find any traces of the Quincy in the palace. The bastard HAD been hiding in the dungeons beneath, and if he'd gotten stuff from those guys...

Shaking his head, Ichigo knew he had other things to worry about right now.

”Who was it that noticed the cat then?”

The two glance at each other.

”Hanatarou.”

Ah.

Well, _that_ explained why the shinigami didn’t notice the cat at first.

”Even if we do find it, I’m not sure how we are gonna catch it though; I’m more skilled at cracking their masks open than trying to negotiate.”

Renji admits, and Ichigo and Rukia both had to agree; they weren’t sure how to approach this, either.

Then, an idea pops in Ichigo’s head, although he wasn’t sure if he should voice it out.

Another, urgent push from Shirosaki makes him open his mouth.

”I guess...we could at least ask Inoue to help us find it and catch the cat; she is highly skilled with spiritual spells and her senses are sharper than average person’s.”

Both look at him like he was onto something, although Rukia seemed a bit concerned, and Ichigo could guess what she was thinking.

”That is true, but she is also highly sensitive. If...if something goes wrong and that hollow turns out to be stronger than what we initially think, she could be overwhelmed. Let alone if that thing opens a portal for us, if she is nearby, the sheer spiritual pressure from that portal alone can knock her out.”

”I know, we’ll just tell her to not....”

the ginger pauses, suddenly understanding the meaning behind Rukia’s wording.

” _Us?_ You...you want to come with me?”

”Last time we left you alone in Hueco Mundo - or rather each time we did that - you got yourself almost killed.” Rukia points out dryly, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but smile sheepishly, for she had a point.

Still...

”It might be dangerous, I don’t know exactly what’s going on, other than something is off.”

Renji just laughs, giving him a reassuring smirk.

” _Please_ Ichigo; by now we are used to getting in trouble whenever near you. It’s like you have some sort of danger-fetish that's never satisfied.”

He promptly dodges the half-hearted kick aimed at his balls.

 

 

 

Inoue was less surprised to see them at her door this late than what one would expect.

Perhaps because Ichigo had already done it a couple of times earlier.

She lets them in and listens to their request, her face going a little pale at the mention of Grimmjow. Ichigo didn’t blame her, the girl’s only interaction with the blunet so far was when he’d forcibly dragged Ichigo’s half-dead body to her doorstep and then almost overwhelmed her with his powerful aura and nearly burned her hands too. Her eyes widen briefly as she hears the idea they have in mind, but for Ichigo’s surprise, the girl turns serious and nods.

”I’ll do it if it’ll help.”

”We don’t want to force you; I know that you are highly sensitive, and the last thing we want is you getting hurt.”

Ichigo tells her firmly, grasping her shoulder and squeezing it slightly. The girl swallows down nervously, her cheeks a little red, but she shakes her head with a resolute gaze in her eyes.

”I want to help you Kurosaki-kun. It...it’s clear this is important to you.”

Ichigo just gazes at her with new appreciation, although he was still concerned; doing something like this was different from what Inoue was accustomed to. Mostly she just healed things, fixed broken objects and occasionally performed complex spells like the thing she did with Ichigo earlier.

”Then we better hurry and find this cat before it disappears back to Hueco Mundo.” Renji reminds them, gaining a nod from the group.

Hastily, Inoue heads to her bedroom to switch into more appropriate clothing from her nightgown, while Rukia and Renji check the area with their senses - and tracker devices - just in case to see if there were any hollows nearby.

”Can’t pick up anything, can you Rukia?”

”Not really; whatever this feline is, it _is_ very good at hiding.”

Rukia sighs, turning to look at Inoue reluctantly, who'd returned from switching her clothes; she'd also put on her shinigami gear, though being part of the healing squad, hers was white and not black. She still was concerned for her doing this, but the ginger woman just gives her a reassuring, brave smile.

”Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

Her tone was a bit uneasy, indicating she was nervous, but Inoue closes her eyes regardless and focuses, a faint orange glow surrounding her.

Ichigo remained nearby in case she’d get overwhelmed and faint; being highly sensitive to spiritual pressure was a double edged sword; while it made finding beings extremely easy, if she wasn’t careful Inoue could end up taking damage to her soul as she did this, or at least be knocked out for several days.

After a moment she starts to turn pale, and Ichigo was about ready to call it quits, not wanting her to hurt herself, when she gasps all of a sudden and opens her eyes, turning to look at Ichigo with what seemed like a very stunned expression.

”It’s near my house, in the forest behind it.”

She states, her voice strangely unnerved and...confused?

”Great, let’s head there and catch this slippery kitty!” Renji declares, clearly ready for action; while he wasn't too keen on going back to Hueco Mundo, lately there had been little to do, which is why he'd also agreed to go on the ghost-cat hunt with Rukia.

Ichigo however looks at Inoue with a concerned frown, asking what was wrong. Her expression was...unsettling to say the least.

”I....it feels _strange._ I’m...not sure if it is a hollow.”

Inoue mumbles out quietly, then looks up at Ichigo with a concerned frown.

”It feels a bit like.... like the spirit that possessed you. That blue haired man.”

The ginger’s eyes widen, and for a moment he just stares at her in shock.

**_What?_ **

Why would Grimmjow be here, in a tiny cat form?

It made _zero_ sense, he’s just left him back to Hueco Mundo in his full glory.

”I _don’t_ think its him. But...it might be connected.”

She adds after a moment of awkward silence, silence long enough to make Rukia and Renji look at them confused, not understanding the conversation.

”Ichigo?” Inoue asks uncertain as the ginger had just sort of frozen in confusion for a moment.

He shakes his head to clear it and flashes a smile at her.

”Thanks, let’s go and catch it so we can figure out what’s going on.”

 

 

 It did not take them that long to find it thanks to Inoue’s precise senses, although she did seem a little pale, and did her ’scanning’ only in short bursts to not pass out. soon enough, Ichigo spotted a figure hiding in the trees further away, a figure that was clearly a cat of some sort, and now that they were close to it, Ichigo could also sense it; a faint aura that indeed felt strangely familiar.

Its back was turned to them, so Ichigo signals the group to halt, and gestures Inoue to come closer.

”Think you can seal it inside a bubble barrier? Do you have enough energy for it?”

Inoue hesitates for a moment, checking her reserves.

”Yes, I think I can do it.”

”Don’t force yourself.” Ichigo reminds her yet again, but she just flashes him a brave smile, telling him she was fine.

It wasn’t that believable given how pale she was, but Orihime was clearly set on helping him out, and there wasn’t much they could do to stop her.

Suddenly, the figure shifts from its hiding spot, apparently having spotted their presence finally. The group heads after the creature, coming from either side to hopefully block its path. It was rather strange though; the cat kept hopping from one tree to another, but did not quite shake them off, as if it was letting them follow it on purpose.

Once they reached an opening in the forest, the thing suddenly moved, jumping down from the tree, charging towards Ichigo, who brings up his blade reflexively, before remembering that shit, he was supposed to _catch_ it not slay it.

Rukia moves quickly before the being could skewer itself on Ichigo’s blade and render their plan a failure, sending out an energy blast to knock the hollow feline sideways, and Inoue summons up a bubble to trap the thing within it.

As they looked at their captured prey, the Shinigami did not feel too hopeful about the success of this crazy idea; the thing looked like a relatively small, ferocious hound-sized cat - most hollows were much larger - that kept clawing on the orange bubble surrounding it with a snarl. Ichigo felt even more confused now, about the tint of familiarity in the small thing's aura.

”I doubt that thing has enough brains to listen.”

Renji points out after a moment of awkward silence. Ichigo had to agree, he doubted this thing could be of any help, it didn’t even seem to be able to talk.

 Suddenly, the golden and black eyes zero in on him, and the hollow falls silent, just staring at the ginger strangely.

Ichigo takes a step back unnerved, not liking the way the cat-like thing glared at him. It reminded him of Grimmjow when the man was pissy, even if the eye-color was off. Maybe the weird aura similarity made him think that.

 

”Why is it looking at you like that?”

Renji asks a bit nervously, gripping his blade tighter. Before the ginger could reply, Shirosaki piped in in his head.

 

_Lemme talk to it._

 

”Wha? Why?”

 

His companions look at the ginger confused, who quickly turns his back to them to talk with Shirosaki quietly.

”Shirosaki, they don’t know about you; if I let you out they’ll probably panic and think I’m being possessed again.”

 

_Tell ’em the truth. I need ta do this, I think the cat wants ta talk to **me.**_

 

”Why? It’s just some random hollow. I doubt you can make it speak any more than I do.”

 

_Ichiii, you **gotta** trust me. There’s something funny about that kittycat, and you know it. Ya can sense its aura, don’t cha?_

 

With a long suffering sigh and a glance at his friends, then at the feline hollow that kept staring at him, the ginger turns back to face his confused friend. Yeah, Shirosaki was right, and if he knew how to get answers, Ichigo might as well let him do his thing.

”...Guys, please don’t freak out okay? Just trust me.”

”What do you...?”

Rukia swiftly cuts herself off as she watches in horror how her friend’s skin and hair bleaches, and Renji grasps his blade, stepping between Ichigo and the two women, that night from earlier popping fresh into his mind. However, the pale figure lifts his hand up in a ’wait’ motion, and as the golden black eyes open to look at them, there was no malice or hollow-typical hunger in them.

For a second, there was tense silence between the group, up until the pale Ichigo finally speaks.

”Ichi is fine. I asked ’im ta let me do this.”

The group glance at each other, than stare back at the pale form that was now fidgeting nervously under their gaze. His voice was a higher pitch of Ichigo’s and a little distorted, and it clearly wasn’t Ichigo.

At least not the Ichigo they knew.

”What the hell is going on? Who are you? Did that blue haired bastard possess you again?!”

_”Don’ call ’im a bastard, bastard!”_

The pale figure suddenly snaps and snarls at them, making Renji take a step back and lift his blade.

As if realizing that getting hostile wasn’t a good idea, the pale Ichigo shakes his head and turns slowly to look up at the still trapped cat, which had watched their exchange surprisingly calm.

”Is that really Ichigo? He feels like...like a hollow.”

Rukia mutters out, keeping an eye on the chalk-faced male.

Inoue examines him quietly, her body slightly tense. It was true that right now, Ichigo was coated in hollow aura, but for some reason, this felt different from last time; this did not feel like foreign entity, but rather....

”I...it is still Ichigo, I think. It doesn’t feel like there is something or someone else in his body right now.”

Inoue mumbles out, and the golden eyes glance at her, flashing her a crooked grin. It was a bit creepy looking, but held no sinister intentions behind it.

”Ichi can explain ta whole shit-show later.”

The pale figure turns his gaze back at the cat, and for a moment they just stare at each other.

"Hey kitty, I could hear ya back there. Ya were callin' me ta talk to ya, so here I am."

The trio watches the pale Ichigo chat with the cat calmly, and it was such a bizarre sight, especially because it seemed like the hollow was listening, tilting its head and examining him closely.

Then, the three watch uneasily as the not-Ichigo-but-still-kind-of-Ichigo frowns, and then lifts his hand to touch the bubble.

"Like this?" He mumbles out, as if replying to the cat despite it not having said anything.

For a moment, everything is silent and the feline just stares at the palm pressed against the glowing orange surface. Then, almost like the thing had forgotten it was a bloodthirsty demonic being and not a house-cat, the hollow presses its head against the bubble, on the spot the pale figure’s hand was, almost if to rub against it.

What happened next took everyone by surprise.

Shirosaki could feel something tug into his very core, and for a moment he felt kind of dizzy, as if something was pulling energy out of him.

The next second, the cat began to glow, so brightly that they all had to cover their eyes.

Suddenly, the bubble holding the hollow in began to crack, before shattering with a loud noise, the shockwave of the surprisingly strong energy being released sending everyone stumbling back.

_”Ichigo!”_

Rukia calls out to her friend, concerned as he’d been standing the closest to the shattering bubble. Once her vision clears properly, the woman quickly grasps her blade upon seeing that the feline had launched itself onto Ichigo, pinning him to the ground. What’s more, it was now _**big.**_

At least the size of a lion, perhaps even bigger.

Before she could use her blade however, a hand lifts up in a ’stop’ motion.

A hand that was no longer pale.

”It’s okay, I think.... I know this cat.”

Ichigo, now sounding like himself, manages to comment between having his face licked and nuzzled by a giant feline muzzle.

It was a little uncomfortable given the tongue felt a bit like sandpaper, but Ichigo was not going to complain, it was not like that was important right now.

” _What the hell happened?_ What is that? It has fur!”

Renji mumbles out confused; just a second ago they had been dealing with small, armor covered kitten, and now his friend was pinned under giant white feline, that had actual fur.

_Fur._

Hollows rarely had fur, let alone fur covering their entire body like a normal animal would.

Granted, he’d never seen a white panther _this_ big, indicating it wasn't a normal panther.

At least Renji figured it was a panther, he was no expert in large magical cats.

”Alright enough already, I get you’re thankful.”

Ichigo manages to laugh and finally push the giant feline back a bit, which still makes a point to rub its giant face against his shoulder for a bit.

”Kurosaki-kun...what is going on?” Inoue asks hesitantly, and freezes as the being’s now blue eyes turn to look at them sharply.

Blue eyes that felt familiar....

 

**”I suppose I should thank you for not killing me, Shinigami.”**

 

The group was clearly surprised to hear it - _she_ based on the voice - talk.

So surprised that for a moment they just stared at the panther in shock, who just turns her attention back to Ichigo, who quickly pulls his hand back from trying to scratch her ears.

He couldn’t help it, they looked so soft and.... _fluffy._

Fluffier than with that other Pantera they'd met. This one was far fluffier than that one.

Ichigo was fairly certain that the petting urge and all the mental babbling about fluff came from Shirosaki and not him.

The sheepish laugh from within his head confirmed that thought.

**”I must also thank Six once I see him again, for warning you. I don’t think we’d be able to deal with the intruder by ourselves.”**

”Can you tell me why were you out here in a tiny hollow-cat form? Also, would be nice if you moved a little, you’re cutting off circulation from my legs.”

The feline snorts but shifts, allowing Ichigo to rub his legs.

**”When that little vermin brought us to those Quincies, they used a forbidden spell to force me out of the blade and replaced my presence with something of their own creation. They used my essence to mask it, make it look and feel like me.”**

The feline lets out a low, angry growl, and a chill traveled down his spine upon hearing the anger and blood-thirst in it.

Definitely Grimmjow’s zanpakuto spirit/Reason manifest.

**”I managed to escape before they drained me altogether, but I was reduced in such a weak form that I briefly forgot what I was. I became a mindless being like the rest of those who come here usually. Granted, I did not feel hunger for my being works differently.”**

She clearly sounded highly disgusted, and perhaps a bit ashamed; Ichigo could only imagine how she must’ve felt, being driven off from her rightful place, being torn off from a soul she belonged into.

The more Ichigo thought about it, the more _horrifying_ the situation was.

It was a miracle the feline was keeping it together as well as she seemed to be; probably doing it because she had important things to do.

Ichigo was no expert on this whole soul business, but...imagining someone to try and rip Shirosaki away from his soul, the whole thought made his stomach turn unpleasantly. Even though he’d known of Shirosaki’s existence only for a short period, he’d already become such an integral part of Ichigo’s being, that the mere thought of someone taking him away and replacing the pale twin with a mockery was...disturbing.

Probably an instinctive reaction to the whole concept, given Shirosaki was a part of his soul, just like Pantera was part of Grimmjow's.

The cat did not object when Ichigo lifted his hand hesitantly to rub her fur in what was hopefully a reassuring manner.

**”I suppose it was a stroke of luck that you chose to capture me instead of slaying me. Once I saw your face Kurosaki Ichigo, it all came back to me.”**

She adds, glancing at Ichigo’s friends before a low sound akin to a purr escaped her.

”I...how did seeing me help?"

**"The bond you share with my Master, I feel it too, and all the information it holds is mine as well. I know the journey he's taken with you so far, even if I wasn't quite there to witness it."**

"Where were you then? Before...before they got you?" Ichigo couldn't stop but ask, and the feline goes quiet, blue eyes darkening slightly as a low guttural sound escapes her throat.

**"My consciousness was...floating somewhere within the spiritual realm, lost for so many centuries. I only managed to find my way back thanks to Kaien."**

Huh...so his ancestor had been doing more than just spooking Urahara and giving him sudden intel about his parenthood. He'd sure been busy before perishing.

It was a story Ichigo was curious to learn, but he knew he had more pressing matters to deal with first. Plus, he did not want to provoke any unpleasant memories or so the Panther likely had.

How was...how did you turn back like this?”

**”Six did more than just warn you; his visit within your soul space left enough energy from my master to strengthen me.”**

Pantera explains and rubs her head against Ichigo’s palm. The ginger wasn't quite sure if the Panther was doing this affectionate cat-stuff on purpose, or if it was just an instinct. Maybe it was subconsciously seeking for comfort after all of her bad experiences. Honestly, it didn't matter too much.

A cough interrupts them, and Ichigo realizes that his friends had been watching the show, utterly confused about why Ichigo was petting a large hollow-cat. Pantera looks between them mildly amused, then gives the ginger a pointed look.

**”Perhaps you should explain them a bit more about the situation, boy.”**

Ichigo sighs and nods, turning to face his friends who still eyed the feline warily.

”This is...I suppose you could say Grimmjow’s zanpakuto spirit, the _real_ one. Her name's Pantera.”

Rukia and Renji glance at each other surprised, and Inoue looks at Ichigo even more confused; she knew even less than those two.

"What do you mean real one?" Rukia asks him with a frown, sensing there was a story behind the choice of words, story Ichigo hadn't told them yet.

”...why is it- She out here?” Renji wisely changed his wording upon getting a rather murderous look from the big feline.

She didn’t seem intend on eating Ichigo, but still sat too close to their ginger friend for Renji’s liking.

”She just told _that_ story didn’t she?” Rukia points out, though she was also examining the large panther with a slight frown on her face.

Her gaze then drifted to Ichigo, clearly demanding for a proper explanation to the bizarre situation.

”I..”

**”We do not have time, boy. My master needs me, and surely you can feel the urgency of the situation as well; if you intend on taking this long to brief your companions, I suggest you do it as we head to find my Master.”**

The panther cuts him off before Ichigo could even begin forming further words, and gets up, shaking her giant head and looking at herself a little displeased. Ichigo then noted her form was flickering a bit, turning see-trough at times.

**”No good; Six did not leave me enough to feed on. I need a vessel.”**

”A vessel?”

Pantera looks up at Ichigo, then her gaze drifts at the blade on Ichigo’s belt.

**”I cannot keep this form up for long with such little reserve; I need a vessel that can stabilize myself, before I reduce back to that small, pathetic hollow-like form, or even disappear into the astral realm.”**

As she kept gazing at the blade, Ichigo looks at it too, then back up at her.

”I...Will that work? This is just a practice blade, not too sturdy.”

Pantera lets out a low laugh and pokes his forehead with her large nose, and then nudges at his blade with her paw, as if asking him to pull it out.

Hesitantly, Ichigo stands up and brings it out from the sheath, looking at her uncertain.

”I don’t know how...I’ve not performed the ritual to gain my won Zanpakuto yet.”

The feline tilts her head curiously, as if she found this detail peculiar, but then just places her large paw on top of the blade, careful not to cut herself.

**”You may explain the full situation to your friends on the way. I’ll open us a path once I’ve stabilized myself.”**

With that, the panther starts to glow brightly, and the group watches in awe as the blue glow surround both her and the blade, and the figure dissolves, seemingly disappearing into the blade. Once the glow vanishes, Ichigo stares the sword in mild awe, noting that the blade had turned from metal-colored to bone white, like Grimmjow’s blade was.

There was also a panther engraved on it, like with the original one.

Ichigo could feel Pantera’s power radiate from it, though it was not even close to the power it had when wielded by Grimmjow.

He _wasn’t_ her master after all.

”Ichigo?”

The ginger turns to look at Inoue, and flashes her a smile.

”Thank you. You’ve done enough and should head back. I promise I tell you everything once I get back, okay?”

Inoue looks at the two others, who nod and tell her she should go back to bed.

Going to Hueco Mundo would be too dangerous to someone as sensitive as her. After a moment of hesitation, the girl sighs and nods, giving them all a hug - a rather quick and blush-filled one with Ichigo - telling them to be careful.

Once Renji escorts her back home and returns, Ichigo turns his attention to the new blade in his hand.

He felt a little bad for using it, as it felt like he was handling something that didn’t belong to him. A piece of someone elses soul at that, it was _twice_ as uncomfortable.

 

**Do not worry child; I would not let you use my power if he thought you’d not be worthy.**

 

Pantera reassures him, and Ichigo swallows down nervously, nodding.

”Let’s do this then.”

Following her instructions, Ichigo channels the power emitting from the blade, focusing it on the sharp tip, and slowly cuts it trough the air, opening a crack into the sky like hollows would. He could tell Shirosaki was listening closely as well, likely trying to learn how to do it himself. He was still probably upset for being unable to do it earlier. 

”You two ready?”

Ichigo asks unsure from his friends, who just fix their robes and look at him with equally serious expressions.

”Let’s hope you don’t get almost killed this time around.” Renji jokes a bit, but his voice was tight; they did not know exactly what was waiting for them.

”I’ll give you the full story on the way as she told me to.”

Ichigo tells him simply and steps in trough the portal, followed by his two companions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I'm starting to feel like this story is out of control. I no longer know where its heading, so once this whole fake-Pantera fiasco is behind us, I'll have to take another longer break to really think where I'm going with this next.  
> Also, poor Shiro, he's just...he's gotta get that seal removed so he won't feel so useless.   
> Goddammit Urahara, for doing this to the poor baby.  
> I mean, I get why he did it but...  
> .....ohwait I'm the one writing this thing, so it's MY fault.  
> *goes to the corner of shame*
> 
> Okay I stop rambling now.


	33. treasurehunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and his buddies go after Grimmjow  
> Grimmjow has already figured out what they know; the cat is a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I feel like I owe a bit of an explanation to all of my readers about this longer wait, namely because the waits from now on will still be longer between chapters in all likeness.  
> I'm pretty much having a serious lack of interest/motivation when it comes to doing any fandom related stuff. I much rather do something else at the moment than write fanfics or do fanart. It's not even that I don't know what to do with the story, I do. I just...couldn't write it, I absolutely didn't feel like doing it for a long while, as there were other things I was more interested in, still am for the most part. 
> 
> Another issue I'm facing with this fic - an issue I already mentioned I think - is that I was rather dumb to choose the Quincy as my main antagonist. 
> 
> Why? 
> 
> because I don't really care about them as characters. At least with Aizen, he provokes some sort of emotion (anger, I hate his guts) so I can easily write about him. With the Quincies....it's just "meh" really. They never struck me as interesting unfortunately, so writing about them is going to be a challenge, especially with how I'd need them for this story. 
> 
> Now all this being said, I will still finish this fic somehow, someday, as I hate leaving stuff unfinished and know there are people who want to know how the story ends. It's just gonna take longer than I initially assumed, and updates between chapters are going to be longer now.
> 
> I felt I should mention all this, given how I used to update much more often in the past.

It was pretty clear that while his friends were used to weird shit when it came to him by now, the story about Shirosaki still managed to surprise them, as after explaining the deal with him bleaching and gaining a weird accent, the two just fell quiet and stared at him for a long while.

Pantera had managed to open a portal relatively close to the palace, but Ichigo had noted much to his concern that he could not sense Grimmjow’s presence in there. Even if their link was being blocked, had the blunet been there, he would’ve sensed it regardless.

”I _never_ knew a zanpakuto spirit could traverse between two minds using a soul connection.”

Rukia comments once they reach the stairs Pesche had shown them previously. Ichigo figured it was for the best to check on them too and see if they would have an idea where Grimmjow had gone off to.

”Technically Six _isn’t_ Grimmjow’s zanpakuto spirit. Pantera has that role, but I get what you mean.”

Ichigo corrects her once they reach the top, and Ichigo looks around the plateau for a bit. It still looked the same, which should not have been surprising given he’d been here only few days ago.

”Are those three still here?”

As if hearing Renji’s question, a blur of green suddenly shoots trough the doorway, nearly tackling Ichigo and hitting him in the balls with a hard ivory mask, almost sending the Shinigami topping over the edge.

**_”What the hell?!”_ **

Ichigo coughs out and grasps the sobbing Nel, currently sneezing her snotty face to his robe. She looked really relieved to see him. Relieved... and _scared._

The little girl was clearly worried about something.

”Calm down Nel, what’s wrong?” Ichigo asks her gentler once she calms down enough to stop squeezing the living daylights out of him.

”Grimmjow is...Grimmjow’s been acting weird, and Nel is worried!”

Ichigo lifts eyebrow, noting that the green haired girl seemed to be able to pronounce Grimmjow’s name correctly for once.

”Weird, how so?”

Renji questions to sobbing girl, who only now seems to realize the ginger whose robe she was clutching wasn’t alone. For a moment the wide hazel eyes just stare at Renji and Rukia, before she turns her attention back to Ichigo and starts shaking him violently, so much so that the ginger’s head was spinning.

”Itsygo gotta find Grimmjow! Nel dun like the thing with him!”

”Please calm down Nel, he’s not going to be able to help if you shake him unconscious.” Rukia steps in with a frown, unsure on how to deal with the situation.

The green haired girl pauses and looks at Ichigo, whose eyes weren’t focused on particularly anything. She quickly lets go and jumps down from his lap, only for the ginger to fall on his butt to wait for the world to stop spinning.

”Can you please tell us what this ’thing’ is exactly?”

She then asks her, crouching down to be on eye level with the little scared hollow girl.

Nel gulps down and sucks in a deep breath trough her nose to calm down, before replying.

”It’s in his sword; Nel can sense it. Nel knows Grimmjow’s kitty, the kitty dun feel like that.”

Ichigo gazes at her surprised; so Nel was able to tell something was off too?

Then again, she WAS a former Espada like Grimmjow, so her knowing Pantera more intimately made sense.

”You could _tell_ his zanpakuto spirit was off?”

Renji questions equally surprised. It was not too common for an outside to notice it, especially if they did not see the weapon wielded in action. The girl just nods, then turns to look at Ichigo. She opens her mouth to say something, when her eyes widen and the girl just stares at the white blade on Ichigo’s hip.

”Uh....I can explain.”

”Itsygo found it! Itsygo found the real kitty!” Nel exclaims loudly and glomps him again, nearly choking the poor Shinigami out.

Ichigo somehow manages to pry her off, his front covered in drool and snot now. It was disgusting, but the ginger was strangely used to it already.

”Yes I did. Now Pantera wants me to find Grimmjow. Do you know where he went?”

He lowers the girl to sit down to the ground in front of him, giving her a serious, big brotherly look. For a moment Nel just gazes up at him, then points somewhere.

”There. He always goes to that direction when he leaves.”

Well, general direction was better than nothing, but still not helpful enough.

_”Nelliel san!”_

A panicked voice gains their attention and the group turns to look at Pesche who rushes to them, clearly having been looking for the girl.

”Oh there you are! Don’t just rush off like— oh, hello Kurosaki san.”

Pesche greets him a little dumbfounded, soon followed by his large companion who also busts out of the doorway.

”Why are ya here agaaain?”

Dondochakka asks the Shinigami equally baffled, and Ichigo sighs, giving them a serious look. He grabs Nel and plops her on Pesche’s lap.

”Keep a proper eye on her, things can get really dangerous now.”

The ginger warns the confused male hollow, before turning to look at Renji and Rukia, nodding at the direction Nel had pointed.

”Hueco Mundo is a vast place, general direction is not enough info to know where to go.” Rukia points out as they prepare to jump back down to the vast deserts below. Ichigo says nothing, placing a hand on the hilt of his borrowed blade of sorts. He was doing it subconsciously, not really knowing why at first.

Soon however, he understood; there was a faint tug in his mind, and Ichigo knew it was probably Six, flashing his aura a bit trough the partially disturbed link - the disturbance likely caused by whoever was pretending to be pantera - between him and Grimmjow.

Likely Pantera - _the real one_ \- was able to hold the link ’open’ slightly, just enough for her partner to show them the way.

This was how they were supposed to be, Ichigo realized just at that moment; not fighting like the fake Pantera and crazed version of Six - well not most of the time, probably they did fight given Grimmjow hadn’t found it weird - but working together to achieve a common goal. Protecting and saving their Master.

It made him smile for some weird reason, and a low hum sounded in his head, as if Pantera knew his thoughts.

”Pantera is showing us the way.”

Ichigo informs his friends and jumps down, sprinting across the sand faster than they’d ever seen him do. There was a slight blue hue around him, indicating Grimmjow’s spirit was aiding him with the speed.

Rukia and Renji glance at each other, then sigh and jump, heading after Ichigo.

 

 

 

Grimmjow’s head was buzzing; the amount of spiritual energy this deep underground was giving him a headache. It was just too overwhelming even for his senses. The damn cat kept telling him to keep going however, heading back towards the large opening that led even deeper into this hellhole.

He had not spoken much with his spirit, letting her lead him trough the tunnels.

The more he thought about it, the more something felt seriously  _wrong._

Pantera wasn’t acting quite like herself. It was just a small detail, but... She’d never been this set on one goal.

Sure, when she had a goal the cat was very focused and planned every step on the way - or rather gave him the guidance to do so - but right now, it felt more like she was _personally_ eager to do this.

Normally, Pantera was more neutral about her propositions, ultimately letting Grimmjow decide where to go, an obvious dynamic given Pantera was just a guiding part of his soul. Now she was almost urging him to do this, like she was a complete separate entity from him.

It didn’t make sense, and since Pantera was supposed to be the manifest of his reason, _**her**_ not making sense was bad.

 

**_”Master, please focus.”_ **

 

Grimmjow frowns, noting the mildly annoyed tone she was using.

Pantera could get annoyed with her sure, but usually it was over him listening to Six too much. Not shit like this.

”Well _excuse me_ , cat; I’m still processing a years worth of bullshit, standing in the middle of a pitch black goddamn cave, filled with enormous amount of spiritual pressure that my goddamn ears are ringing.”

A loud sigh was all he heard as a response.

Eventually, he reaches the edge of the large drop down to the abyss and stops, glancing down a tad uneasy. Grimmjow was not afraid of heights - his home was literally carved in the middle of a mountain wall - but the pitch-blackness and the thick spiritual pressure emitting from the hole would unsettle even the strongest of hollows. Nobody in their right mind would head this deep down into the sands of Hueco Mundo.

”Can’t even see how damn deep this is.”

Grimmjow mutters out, kicking a rock down the abyss. He could not hear it land, great.

 

**_”It indeed seems to go rather deep.”_ **

 

So now even the damn panther was a little unnerved? Figures.

 

**_”The amount of spiritual energy coming from there... it is rather staggering.”_ **

 

Grimmjow’s mind pauses at those words, and he glances at his blade.

”.......Yer brain was really mangled by our separation huh? Every hollow knows the deeper you go, the worse the concentration of energy is. That’s why most stay the hell away from these areas. I can survive ’cause I got enough power ta rival the natural remedies around here. A weaker one’s gonna be squished.”

 

**_”Ah yes...of course. Perhaps this separation indeed has had an effect on my memory.”_ **

 

The cat chuckles, speaking a bit too quickly for her normal pattern.

Grimmjow remains quiet, but his gaze hardens, as the grip around his sword first tightens, then his fingers slacken and he lets go of it. Glancing down, then behind him one last time, the blunet takes in a deep breath and leaps off the edge, descending into the darkness, where the air felt more like soup due to the heavy concentration of raw energy. He could feel the blade brush against his side as he kept falling, but for the first time in eons, it _wasn’t_ a comforting feeling.

Whoever this bitch was, it **wasn’t** Pantera, it had become very clear.

Grimmjow had no way of knowing who they were and what the hell they were doing in his blade - or even how that had happened - but figuring out what they wanted wasn’t too hard. They wanted the Wishing Stone, and were clearly desperate for it.

Well too bad for them; he also knew how to play this game, and how to use it if they ever found the damn thing.

 

 

Following the short bursts of energy emitting from the bond wasn’t easy; often times the trip found themselves taking sharp turns to opposite direction from where they’d been heading. Eventually however, Ichigo could tell they were getting closer, as the bursts became stronger with each signal.

”Where the hell did he go? Are you sure you know where we are going, Ichigo?”

Renji questions his friend, clearly a little tired of the constant zig-zagging across the empty desert.

”Yes, we’re getting closer.”

Ichigo informs them, then suddenly skids to a halt, and looks around with a frown. He could feel the burst from a second ago very strongly, almost if they were in the cusp of finding Grimmjow, but he could not see him anywhere. Yet, as another wave was emitted trough the bond by Six, it almost felt like... Ichigo looks down, and soon spots a small opening between rocks a bit further away, realizing what was going on.

”He’s _underground!”_

The ginger declares and rushes to the cave entrance before either of his friends could utter out a single word. Upon reaching the entrance however, Ichigo stops, suddenly feeling a little lightheaded. The wisps of spiritual pressure coming from within the caverns was very strong.

”Whoa...this feels even stronger than the catacombs below the palace.”

Renji remarks upon reaching Ichigo and sensing the same thing his ginger friend did. Rukia joins them and frowns, examining the darkening pathway suspiciously.

”This...I’m not sure if going in there is a good idea; this pressure is incredibly dense. What Renji and I experienced in the palace was much smaller to **_this.”_**

Ichigo turns to look at her, reminding the short woman what was at stage.

”I understand Ichigo, but... I don’t know if we’ll be able to survive down there. This is _beyond_ anything we’ve ever faced before.”

The ginger opens his mouth, then closes it frustrated.

She had a point; the pressure emitting just from the entrance alone was heavy, and it was bound to be worse further down the line. Any weaker shinigami would’ve already fainted just standing there.

”We didn’t prepare properly for this.”

Rukia sighs, but takes her bag and checks trough the gear she and Renji scrambled together regardless.

While the two were contemplating on how to proceed, Ichigo could hear a voice call out to him in his head.

 

_Ichi, why aren’t we moving?_

 

”Shirosaki...it’s too risky; the spiritual pressure from down there could kill us. We aren’t accustomed to it as humans.”

The ginger explains with dismay coloring his voice; he was as antsy as his pale mental twin, but even he wasn’t reckless enough - _really, he wasn’t_ \- to charge in without a proper plan right now.

Dying before he could even reach Grimmjow would be pretty damn stupid.

 

_Maybe ya shoulda just lemme take over then? ’M a hollow technically an’ can convert our body ta handle it. At least ta kitty says I can; Pantera said I'm strong enough to handle the pressure apparently._

 

”Really?”

 

Ichigo voices out loud as his eyes widen in surprise upon hearing that, and he gains the attention of his two companions who look up at him from their gear questioningly.

”Shirosaki says...he can probably at least help me get down there safely.”

The two glance at each other unsure, and Ichigo didn’t blame them; they’d just been introduced to the pale version of him, and their very first encounter with a hollow version of Ichigo Kurosaki had been near fatal and hostile.

”How about us then?” Rukia asks instead, likely understanding they probably didn’t have time to contemplate on whenever Shirosaki could be trusted or not.

Ichigo didn’t really have an idea for how to help his friends to be protected from the pressure as well.

”We can’t let you go down there by yourself, but it’s not like Rukia and I can just, I don’t know, lower our sensitivity or something.”

Renji mutters out rubbing his head, contemplating on the situation. Rukia’s eyes widen, and she suddenly stands up, looking like she’d just gotten an idea.

” _Exactly!_ I know what to do. Since spiritual pressure can only harm us when we _sense_ it, all we need to do is block ourselves from sensing it.”

She explains eagerly, and digs trough her bag for something.

”But...that also means we won’t be able to spot any oncoming enemies.”

Renji points out the obvious hitch in the plan, but Rukia shakes her head, stating it wasn’t gling to be a problem.

”Firstly, in an area with that much energy, I doubt there are many hollows there. Secondly, Ichigo can keep an eye out for us. Thirdly, we have these.”

She pulls out the small, hand-held device that Ichigo knew to be a pocket version of the hollow scanners. Right now they showed no signal, but the ginger had a feeling those devices would not work so well down there, with all the excess energy around them. He had a feeling Rukia knew this though, given how she’d given him a look earlier, and was just stating this to ease Renji’s nerves.

”Alright, so, how do we lessen our sensitivity?”

”With Urahara’s new invention; he’d designed it for spiritually oversensitive people like Inoue to help them regulate their energy better. For her it only lowers her sensory input to on average level, but with us it should block most of it.” Rukia explains and pulls out what looked like a pair of fancy headphones.

Ichigo frowns, asking why she’d taken those with her in the first place.

”You have to be prepared for everything and anything; Inoue was the one who proposed I'd take these with me. maybe she also has future vision powers."

Rukia explains with a shrug, handing out the other pair to Renji, who puts them on after some adjustment.

”Now, we need to be careful; in under **no** circumstances are we allowed to take these off, or we’ll be _severely_ hindranced or even fatally wounded.”

Rukia reminds the redhead sternly while putting hers on.

She looks at Ichigo questionably, probably pondering if she should just hand him a pair too - she likely had an extra set anyway. Ichigo shakes his head and closes his eyes.

”Alright Shirosaki, how should we do this?”

 

_Pantera recommended that first ya let me take over to get the body accustomed ta the atmosphere better. We can switch back later on if needed._

 

Ichigo could sense a slight uncertainty in Shirosaki’s voice, and honestly understood where it was coming from; he had not exactly been that excellent with battles as of late, even if it wasn’t his own fault. Ichigo vowed to tell Urahara to get rid of the damn seal as soon as they’d come back home.

”So uh....Shirosaki’s gonna take over for a bit, to get my body accustomed or something, so don’t freak out.”

Ichigo tells the two, who nod after a moment of hesitation.

 

 

 

The walk deep down to the caverns was tense. Renji kept checking his headphones, concerned whenever they were properly on. The things indeed did what Rukia said they would; he could not sense any spiritual pressure, not even from the two right beside him. The only thing hinting at the large concentration of energy in the atmosphere was how the air felt strangely thick, though it could just be his nerves.

Another thing making him and Rukia tense was the pale figure walking ahead of them, wearing Ichigo’s face but the same time _not_ really being him.

So far, Shirosaki as Ichigo called his twin, hadn’t spoken to them much, focused on whatever he was doing at the moment.

Eventually though, Shirosaki stops suddenly, almost making Rukia collide with his back. ”What’s wrong?” She asks, walking to see the pale figure’s face. The eerie golden and black eyes were in a deep frown, and she soon realized what he was staring at. Ahead of them was a large opening that led even deeper into the darkness below.

”Am I the only one feeling kind of itchy right now?”

Renji questions the two as he steps to stand beside them, and Rukia shakes her head with a concerned frown.

”I...don’t think these earmuffs Urahara made will be enough for us to go down there.”

She admits after a moment of silence, already feeling a little nauseous from the energy emitting from below.

_”Grimm’s down there.”_

Shirosaki declares suddenly, and the two glance at him uneasy.

”With all due of respect; Renji and I cannot go down there. We aren’t equipped to handle such pressure.”

_”Then I’ll go alone.”_

The pale figure states simply, but before he could move forward, Rukia grabs his arm, making the creepy gold eyes look at her confused. Well, now that she examined him more closely, they weren’t _actually_ that creepy. Unlike most hollows, Shirosaki’s eyes had more life to them than just hunger.

”It’s too dangerous to let you do that.”

_”Ichi wants ta go too; we gotta reach ’im before that fake bastard tricks him into doin’ something seriously bad.”_

”What are you going to do exactly once you find him though? Why are you so sure he’ll listen to you?”

Renji joins in, clearly still a little skeptic about this whole idea. The pale Ichigo shoots him an irritated look, and yanks his arm off from Rukia’s hold a bit more violently than Ichigo himself likely would have.

_”He’s saved Ichi’s ass several times already, he didn’t kill ’im while we were stuck in ’ere, an’ even tried ta help Ichi ta understand how weird his soul is. If he was gonna do somethin’ bad ta us, he would’ve done it already.”_

”We are not saying he’d do something bad, we are only wondering what your plan is. What if he’s already found the stone? How about the apparent fake Pantera? What if she has it already in their possession, what will you do then? I feel like we haven't exactly planned this out properly in general." Rukia reasons with the pale version of Ichigo with a troubled frown on her face.

Shirosaki goes quiet, for he had not really considered that, and neither had Ichigo.

They both had just sort of assumed they’d reach the blunet before that could happen, but the truth was, there was a possibility they’d arrive too late.

In case that happened, they did need a proper plan.

Before he could even start forming a coherent thought, a sudden blast of energy emits from the hole, causing an earthquake that makes the entire place rumble like a thunderstorm had hit them. Large chunks of the ceiling start falling down, and the group quickly jumps aside, trying to get away from the carnage. An enormous cloud of dust and debris is thrown into the air, and Shirosaki’s world was tilted upside down as the world fell into chaos.

The next thing he knew, he was falling down, deep deep into the darkness, with no sight of Rukia and Renji.

There was only one thing he knew for certain: that blast had been a _cero,_ probably fired by Grimmjow at something.

 

 

The blunet grunts annoyed, noting that his cero hadn’t done much damage on the glowing purple crystals blocking his path.

It wasn’t _too_ surprising given they were clearly made of highly concentrated spiritual energy.

Still, it pissed him off that a bunch of glowy rocks were blocking his way instead of a proper enemy.

 

**_”This is rather tough substance, how peculiar.”_ **

 

Grimmjow again glances at his blade upon hearing the voice in his head. _Real_ Pantera would have known about these crystals.

Whoever the person pretending to be Pantera was, they hadn’t done their homework properly.

”If that damn stone is in there, we gotta find another way in. Firing more ceros will just collapse the damn ceiling onto us.”

Grimmjow mutters out, kicking a small chipped piece of charred crystal, making it collide with the still intact one, causing a sound that echoed in the eerie silence for a while before subsiding.

 

_**”Unfortunately, it seems the stone is surrounded by these crystalline walls from all sides.”** _

 

Grimmjow couldn’t really disagree; they’d found this large cavern with a strange crystal cone at the center, looking like something had burrowed trough the ground from there and left this crystalline structure behind as skid-marks of sorts. Looking up, Grimmjow could see the crystal walls reached all the way up to the ceiling. There was no light coming trough from the upper part, indicating the actual hole above where the Wishing Stone had once fallen trough, had closed ages ago.

The blunet sighs irritated, rubbing his eyes. Right now he was unsure on what to do.

On one hand, he could inform the faker that their game was up, but the blunet wasn’t certain who they were exactly, and what they were capable of. Ticking them off without knowing what you were facing was not a good idea.

Perhaps in the past he’d done this without hesitation, but after suffering trough so much bullshit, he was not willing to add more to it.

Turning back felt like a waste of time too, given the faker would likely just keep pestering him about this, until they got tired and would try to off him or something.

Suddenly, he could hear rumbling from somewhere behind him, and curses under his breath, realizing that his cero had likely shaken the entire cavern system, probably making part pf the route behind him collapse and get blocked. Firing even that one cero had been an **_extremely_** stupid idea, it turns out. Not that it was surprising in hindsight. 

Sure, there were likely other ways out, or he could just blast one in the ceiling, but they weren't the fastest routes to take, or safest, at least when comparing to a path he'd already traversed safely once before.

 

**_”Search the crystal more thoroughly, there might be a weaker spot on it.”_ **

 

Fake-Pantera instructs him, and Grimmjow sighs as he walks closer to the bizarre structure again, wanting to tell to the fake fucker that it wasn’t likely.

He holds his tongue however, knowing she – whoever they were – would not listen to his complaints.

Faintly, Grimmjow could feel something else was deep down with them, but he chose to not give it attention.

He didn’t want to alert the impostor, not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to get this one out there already, so I didn't double-check for any typos or so. I'm sorry if there's more of those than usual, I'll fix them later on when I'm on a better mindset regarding to doing fandom stuff.


	34. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirosaki and Ichigo reunite with Grimmjow and kick some fake panther ass, well, Grimmjow does anyway. Shiro just throws stones and Ichigo is along for the ride.

When Shirosaki came to, everything around him was dark. There was no sign of Ichigo’s friends either, which was alarming. Scrambling up, the pale figure tries to gather his bearings, noting his head hurt a bit; he must’ve hit it pretty bad at some point.

”Ichi? Ya alright in there?”

 

_Yeah. I swear when we find that blue haired bastard, I’ll punch him for this mess._

 

The pale figure almost wanted to laugh, though he hoped Ichi would not actually do it, that probably wouldn’t go down so well for them. Pacing around for a bit, he soon came to the conclusion there was only one way to go; forward trough a dark tunnel.

”S’ Pantera okay?”

 

_Yes, a little dazed. She says she can feel Grimmjow ahead. We must be close._

 

Shirosaki clutches the sword on his hip, growing a little nervous as he inches towards the tunnel entrance. He still did not know exactly how to deal with the situation up ahead.

Would Grimm believe them?

If he did, what would the fake one do?

They didn’t even know who it was exactly and what they could do.

 

_Maybe we should switch?_

 

”Not a chance Ichi; I can tell the pressure in this place is still ridiculous; ya’d get crushed instantly.”

The ginger clearly did not like the idea, and Shirosaki didn’t blame him; so far when it came to dealing with Grimmjow, the pale figure wasn’t exactly good at it, getting pushed around and whatnot. Reaching up subconsciously, Shirosaki scratches his neck, the spot where the glowing symbols Six had revealed had been.

 

_Once this is over, we’ll GOTTA finally get rid of whatever seal there is on you._

 

Ichigo concluded, and Shirosaki lets out an agreeing hum.

 

”So, what’s the plan?”

Shirosaki asks while walking across the dark tunnel, hand gripping the blade on his flank tightly.

 

_Pantera says once we reach Grimmjow we need to show that blade to him. He should be able to sense her from it._

 

”What ’bout the fake?”

The ginger remains quiet for a moment, likely discussing with the panther. It was a lil weird he couldn’t hear her directly, but then again Pantera wasn’t their zanpakutou spirit, so maybe that was why she could not speak to the wielder directly. Grimmjow had been able to converse with Ichigo because he was not a mere sword bound spirit.

 

_She doesn’t recall exactly who they were, but...advises us to be cautious. Likely the person isn’t physically here in Hueco Mundo, but rather a fragment of their soul is pretending to be her. The fake panther is remote controlled in a way._

 

 

Shirosaki frowns a bit at that; for him it sounded kind of....weird.

Sure, Zanpakuto spirits were fragments of one’s soul - apparently - but what Ichigo described sounded a bit unnatural. The distance between the soul and its fragment should never be that big. It could cause complications to the owner, especially if the soul fragment got destroyed. Such as, how Pantera being separated from Grimmjow had apparently made him weaker.

Shirosaki pauses for a moment, wondering _how_ did he know all this about soul fragments and spirits.

He couldn’t recall hearing about it anywhere, nor seeing it in Ichi’s memories, none of the lessons he'd been listening on anyway.

 

_We can figure that mystery out later; we’re almost there._

 

Indeed, the pressure from Grimmjow’s aura was getting stronger, and he could see faint light ahead. What’s more, Shirosaki could hear a familiar voice too, seemingly talking to himself. With the amount of cursing and volume, it was easy to recognize the owner.

As he steps in, Shirosaki is taken aback by the sight; it was a large circular cave with a strange, upside-down cone shaped crystal structure in the middle that disappeared beyond the roof, almost like someone had punctured a hole trough the cave ceiling with a gigantic crystal blade, and they were seeing the tip of it embedded into stone.

A familiar blue haired figure was standing further away, back turned to them and seemingly arguing with somebody, probably the spirit in his blade.

” _Told ya_ already; usin’ a stronger attack will fuckin’ collapse the place on us.”

The pale figure opens his mouth to call out to Grimmjow, but then the ground shakes, knocking him off balance. Somewhere in the distance, a loud howl could be heard, and blue eyes snap at that direction, cursing under his breath.

”We musta be close ta Menos breeding ground.”

Grimmjow mutters out, then spots the pale figure scrambling off the floor, coughing dust out of his lungs. 

_”The fuck’re ya doin’ here?!”_

He demands, startling the golden eyed version of Kurosaki, who looks up at him and then glances aside, as if not quite sure what to say.

”We...”

Grimmjow marches to Shirosaki who takes a step back, feeling the dominant pressure already having an effect on him. Unfortunately switching with Ichigo was not an option like they'd initially hoped when coming here; the pale figure knew he had to stand his ground right now. Instead of some sort of violent reaction like the man’s face would’ve indicated however, he just grabs shirosaki’s shoulder and seems to check trough him for any injuries. The surprisingly caring reaction caused Shirosaki's heart to flutter - or both of theirs really - and he felt strangely pleased about it.

”The pressure down ’ere coulda kill ya two; the fuck were you thinking?”

”M’ keeping Ichi safe, I woulda **not** let ’im out in this atmosphere.”

Grimmjow grabs both of his shoulders and for a moment just stares Shirosaki into the eyes.

There was a mixture of fury and relief in his eyes, like he was glad to see them but pissed off that they’d come in this dangerous place. The pale figure shakes his head, pushing off his slight unease over Grimmjow’s aura surrounding him, and looks up at the blue eyes with a deep frown.

”Grimm, there’s somethin’ I **gotta** tell ya.”

Before the blunet could say anything, he suddenly squeezes his eyes shut as if some sort of headache hit him, and Grimmjow takes a few steps back with a pained groan, before suddenly grabbing his blade and throwing it aside. Shirosaki watches in shock as the man then collapses to the ground, still clutching his head and panting harshly. Blood started dripping from his mouth, and his normally tan skin began to turn pale.

”Grimm, hey! What’s goin’ on?!”

Shirosaki calls out in worry, sensing Ichi was also silently panicking in his mind. He was shaking badly, coughing out blood, and his aura was all over the place, thinning as if someone was chipping away layers.

 

_Shirosaki, give Pantera to him! Now!_

 

Without further ado, the pale figure tugs out the blade from his belt and swiftly drops it beside Grimmjow’s hand.

A second later, now almost white limb lands onto it, and a second later, immense burst of energy left Grimmjow’s body, blinding them momentarily.

Once the light subsided, he was on his feet again, though still panting and slightly pale. Pantera was firmly on his grip now, back to the rightful owner. Meanwhile, the sword he’d thrown away suddenly starts glowing and eventually forms into a shape of a white panther that was now glaring at Shirosaki rather displeased.

**_”My. It seems I severely underestimated your drive, child.”_ **

”Finally showed yer hand, huh?”

Grimmjow snarls at the panther much to Shirosaki’s surprise, and even the feline seems a bit taken aback.

**_”Ah, so you knew.”_ **

” **Damn right** I know my cat. Some of the shit ya said was the kind of crap she’d _never_ say.”

Grimmjow hisses at the panther and pushes himself up, still holding his head. Shirosaki notes for his slight horror that Grimmjow seemed to still be bleeding a bit from his mouth and eyes.

”The bastard saw you got her n’ freaked out. Since our minds were connected he tried ta kill me.”

The blunet explains, brushing off the blood while keeping his glare trained at the faker. The panther paces around a bit, keeping its glare at them as well.

 

**_”I would’ve never guessed that cat could come back; I believed for certain she was eradicated  by haschwalth's spell when I took her place.”_ **

 

Grimmjow’s face twists into an angry grin, and the wickedness of his expression was _freaky_ even to Shirosaki who wasn’t on the receiving end of it.

The blunet brings his blade up and points it at the glowing feline, his next words filled with so much hatred and malice that it could’ve made the devil pee their pants.

”It’s yer _last_ mistake ta underestimate **my** Pantera, fucker.”

The cat’s eyes widen by a fraction and it attempts to jump out of the way just as Grimmjow swings his blade, sending an enormous slicing attack of pressure from his blade towards it. Shirosaki - and Ichigo - watch in awe as the pressure wave hits the panther, throwing it backwards into the air and against the crystalline structure, actually shattering it to thousands of pieces, causing a cascade of sharp sparkling fragments to fly in all directions.

Shirosaki brings his arms up to cover himself from the deadly projectiles, but Grimmjow just snorts and swings his sword again, the second wave of pressure shattering them into even smaller pieces, effectively turning the small blades into sparkly sand.

Once the trembling and rain of crystal stops, Shirosaki looks up at Grimmjow a little dumbfounded.

Sure, he’d seen him do immensely powerful attacks before, like his ceros, but that had been just a _pressure wave._ The difference between grimmjow without true pantera and with her was staggering.

Grimmjow looks at him amused, a prideful grin on his face, hand resting casually on Pantera’s hilt like it belonged there. Like it did.

”Ya can do that too probably, once ya get rid of whatever seal that’s holdin’ yer power back.”

Grimmjow informs him, and the pale figure blinks, then looks at himself a little curious. He could? Did he really have that much power? No, rather, did Ichi and him have such power that was just locked away?

”Don’t look so damn surprised; the fact ya can handle the pressure down here s’ a sign ya should easily be at least level of Yammy.”

Grimmjow informs him with a snort, rubbing the back of his neck.

A sudden cough catches their attention, and the two turn to look at the faker panther, who climbs up from the debris, covered in glittery dust. It was rather injured, though Shirosaki noted instead of bleeding blood, it was seemingly letting out fumes of mist or so. Spiritual pressure. It did not feel like a hollow at all.

**_”I would not turn my back on the enemy so soon, brat.”_ **

The panther hisses, now having a distinctively _male_ voice, and Grimmjow snorts, turning back to face to fake, slightly unsheathing his blade again.

”Yer toast; the fact yer leaking spiritual pressure is a sign yer not doin’ so good. Might as well give up n’ run with yer tail between yer legs.”

The panther lets out a rough laugh, and Shirosaki had a feeling it was not out of tricks yet.

 

_**”You seem to forget....While you broke the hold I had of you, I still have a leash onto something else within you, ’king of Hueco Mundo.” ** _

 

Before either of them could move, Grimmjow suddenly feels a violent tug within his very core and topples over, dropping his blade as he suddenly feels like his insides wanted to leave his body.

_”Grimm!”_

A loud roar from the panther sends a pressure wave trough the air, slamming at Shiro and sending him fly and crash against a wall with a pained curse. Moments later, something black and blue seeps out of Grimmjow’s body like liquefied spiritual essence, and both Ichigo and Shirosaki knew what was coming.

_They’d forgotten about Six._

The black mass slowly takes the shape of a feline-like figure that snarls at them, and Shirosaki feels his - their - heartbeat raise in silent panic; it was exactly like how Six had invaded their mind earlier. Only it was worse now; his bone-like armoring was now black, including his skin, and the amount of spiritual pressure leaving him was stronger - and it felt foul, contaminated with something.

”Fuckin’ really? Yer so weak and pathetic ya hafta turn to my own Instinct ta beat me?”

 

_**”Ah, but it is simply tactics; thanks to your blast the pathway is now open, and to my understanding, you cannot kill this fellow unless you wish to die yourself.”** _

 

The panther smirks and heads towards the hole opened to the ground now.

 

**_”This should buy me plenty of time.”_ **

 

The white figure jumps down the hole without further words, and Grimmjow has to jump aside as Six suddenly leaps at him, clearly aiming to strike at his head.

”Shit!” Shirosaki curses, not knowing what to do; he had no blade to channel his power trough and Ichi had not learned to use direct spiritual pressure attacks - which meant he didn’t know how to use them either.

Not having other options, Shirosaki grabs a stone and throws it at Six, who was taking another swing at trying to maul his owner. The black figure groans and whips his head around, glowing blue eyes boring into him. Shirosaki gulps down, suddenly realizing that had probably been a bad idea.

”What are you doing you moron?! **_Run,_** ya can’t defend yourself!”

Grimmjow spats at him and the pale figure turns around and sprints, dodging a leaping attack aimed at him. He kept running, trying to figure out what to do. A clawed hand narrowly misses his head again, and Shirosaki rolls to the side, crouching as Grimmjow sends a blast of pressure at his rampaging Instinct, sending him stumble across the floor and colliding against the wall. Shirosaki watches the black beast growl and pull itself up with a fierce snarl, trying to think of something to do.

Glancing at Grimmjow, he could tell that attack had not been kind on Grimmjow; he also looked like he’d just hit the wall, coughing out some blood again and wheezing.

 

_There’s gotta be a way to snap him out of this; if Grimmjow fights Six, he’ll die._

 

”Not just that, the fake is on his way to snatch the wishing stone!”

Shirosaki adds, then dodges as Six leaps at him again, apparently wanting to deal with the pesky white figure first.

”C’mon Shirosaki, think!”

He mutter more to himself than Ichigo, jumping out of the way of a slashing attack done by the tail. Grimmjow grabs the long limb and throws Six against a wall with a growl to get him off Shirosaki. Once again, he felt the impact too, coughing out more blood.

”Fuckin’ hell. Pantera can’t get trough ta him. Something’s blocking her.”

Grimmjow mutters out, spitting out blood and glaring at the black figure stalking towards them.

_Blocking._

Golden eyes widen as Shirosaki suddenly realizes what to do.

”The _mask!_ I snapped ’im out of it back then by breakin’ the mask!”

Grimmjow looks at him confused, then has to turn his attention back at the black beast, who swings at him, Kicking the blunet across the room. As a result, Six falls to the ground himself while coughing out black bile of sorts, looking momentarily puzzled.

So it worked both ways huh?

While the beast was disoriented, Shirosaki grabs a sharp looking stone and rushes to it, striking the rock against the mask with a fierce yell, praying that this would work. The beast growls and smacks him aside, making Shirosaki stumble back and lose all air from his lungs momentarily. As his vision clears again, he notes much to his dismay that while the mask was cracked, it hadn’t broken yet.

”What the hell are you..?”

Turning to look at Grimmjow, Shirosaki realizes for his horror his attack had wounded the blunet as well, as he was now holding his bleeding head with a baffled look on his face.

”T-ta mask. The thing that’s keepin’ him under the faker’s influence is on ta mask. We gotta break it!”

At first, he felt the blunet would not believe him, given the blank look aimed at him. Then, a wicked grin appears on his face.

”Thanks for the tip.”

Before Shirosaki could utter out a word, Grimmjow charges at Six, his left hand morphing into battle form, long black claws appearing onto the ends of his fingers. He strikes those claws right into the crown-like bone mask on Six’s face, claws sinking so deep they probably pierced trough his skin beneath.

The fact Grimmjow began to bleed from his head even worse was a clear sign of that.

Seemingly ignoring the intense pain he had to be in, Grimmjow’s grin widens and he yanks his hand back, effectively ripping the mask off his Instinct’s face, and Six stumbles back with a shriek, some sort of bluish glow emitting out from the head wound, similar in color to what Shirosaki had seen before.

Grimmjow watches as the black figure falls on his back and stops moving. Shirosaki scrambles up wide-eyed, noting that the blunet was swaying.

Moments later however, the black liquid sort of melts away, revealing the more usual white beastly Six from beneath.

”Yer _such_ a fuckin’....”

Before Grimmjow could finish his sentence, he falls to the ground flat, and Shirosaki scrambles to him, turning the man over in worry. The head wound looked terrible, and the pale figure felt immense guilt for giving Grimmjow this reckless idea. If he’d struck in too deep, he could’ve just killed them both.

Right now, he was breathing at least, but unconscious.

_”Fuckin’ **Ow.”**_

Shirosaki blinks and looks up tensely, finding that Six had sat up now, rubbing his head. He was still in a beastly form, tail whipping back and forth behind him, but he seemed lucid finally.

”Are ya...?”

Six just nods, shifting and getting up, pacing beside them to look down at his unconscious master. He was trembling pretty bad, his eyes clouded, indicating Six wouldn’t stay conscious for long either.

_”Good thinking, remembering the mask thing.”_

He smirks at Shirosaki, then collapses beside his master, before turning into a mass of blue energy, slowly dissolving back into Grimmjow.

Shirosaki watches in surprise and relief as the wounds slowly start disappearing alongside Six.

 

_That was close, good job Shirosaki._

 

”Thanks.”

He felt genuinely happy of that compliment; for once he hadn’t been useless weight despite his seal. Suddenly, they hear a loud, frustrated growl from behind them, and Shirosaki turns his head, finding the fake Pantera scramble back up with a frustrated hiss.

 

**_”It’s not there! The chamber beneath is empty!”_ **

 

”It’s...empty?”

Shirosaki repeats the panther’s words, who paces around growling, frustration oozing out of its injuries alongside the spiritual pressure.

For a moment the pale figure remains quiet, baffled by the panther’s words. The wishing stone wasn’t there? Slowly, he starts snickering, up until he is full blown laughing. That earned him another pressure wave blast and a tumble across the room, but Shirosaki didn’t care.

”All this trouble, and it was for nothin’ huh? **Serves ya right!”**

Shirosaki spats at the panther, who growls and jumps to tackle him to the ground, ready to bite his head off apparently.

Before he could chomp onto Shirosaki however, a clawed hand grabs the panthers throat and throws him aside. Looking up, the pale figure finds Grimmjow standing beside him, fully healed now, blue eyes filled with new level of energy and usual anger.

”Oi, gettin’ up close n’ personal with this one’s **_My_ ** job, fuck off faker!”

Shirosaki takes a moment to process those words, but once they do register, he could feel slight pleased flush appear on his cheeks. Ichigo in the meantime was probably bright red, letting out a slight disapproving groan within his mind.

 

**_”This isn’t over yet, king, we will come back, we will end this terror your kindred have caused upon us!”_ **

 

The panther hisses, but before it could even move, Grimmjow is beside him, planting a firm leg on top of the panther’s neck, making it unable to move or breathe properly. He points the tip of the blade at the fake pantera’s face, his own now stoic.

”....I dunno who you guys are exactly, but I have a hunch. If my hunch is correct, then yer spewing some _real_ hypocritical bullshit right there.”

He adds some pressure onto his foot, and the feline coughs, clawing the ground as it tries to escape.

Shirosaki now realized it wasn’t just _Grimmjow_ holding the panther down.

He could see a ghostly figure of Six sitting on the panther, claws sunken deep into its flesh, more of that misty essence leaking away from the trapped spirit. They both were very stoic, but Shirosaki could sense the immense disgust and hatred from both.

”....D’ya know what tends to happen when a soul fragment is killed?”

Grimmjow begins, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face. The panther’s eyes widen, as if it began to realize where this was going.

”Ya can survive it, but it depends on the fragment’s size n’ nature. Ya musta have used a lot of yer soul energy ta fake this so convincingly. Make yerself enter m’soul, mimic Pantera’s energy. All that takes a lot of spiritual essence.”

The panther starts struggling, but only gains a low growl and Six’ claws sunken deeper into it.

Shirosaki could’ve sworn now that the panther form was dissipating, revealing a man beneath clad in white, but he couldn’t see their face clearly, aside from noting they had glasses and wore a hat or so.

”Say hello to yer boss from me - if you can after _this.”_

Grimmjow’s grin spreads wide now, and he grabs the figure’s head, charging his hand with energy.

Six disappears from sight seconds before a cero blasts the last bits of the soul fragment into dust, releasing a horrifying shriek into the air.

The sound was akin to primal fear, and Shirosaki clutches his head to shut the noise out, feeling his stomach turn. The wave of foul pressure from the soul fragment disappearing into nothingness was so strong that Shirosaki felt himself start blacking out.

Shit, _not good_ , if he passed out, Ichi would...he would...

A presence then appeared beside him, and a strong arm wraps around his middle, tugging Shirosaki’s limp body against a strong frame.

”Shit, I forgot; hang on.”

Grimmjow sounded a bit frantic, and Shirosaki could hear another blast that felt kind of distant, alongside some small stone and dust falling down on them. He then felt Grimmjow leap up, heading towards a bit of light above, while holding onto Shirosaki firmly.

He could feel the pressure around them lessen the further up they went, and by the time light engulfed his vision, Shirosaki finally passed out.

 

 

 

Ichigo could feel someone poking him, over and over.

He heard distant talking nearby, wondering what was going on. Then, something wet and slimy falls over his face and Ichigo’s eyes shot open, finding Nel look down at him with a drooly smile.

”Ichi woke up!”

She declared happily, and moments later, Ichigo is surrounded by more familiar faces. Renji and Rukia both looked very pale, indicating they’d been worried sick. There was also the giant masked face of Dondochakka taking most of his vision, alongside his companion.

”You’re awake Kurosaki-san! Oh what a joyous day, we thought you’d died, you were completely white!”

”T’was his Instinct-side controlling the body, dumbass. That’s why he was pale.”

Ichigo whips his head around, seeing Grimmjow walk towards them with hands in his pockets, Pantera securely on his belt.

He was back in the palace, lying on the floor in the healing water room. Ichigo wipes away the disgusting drool and attempts to get up, needing some help from Rukia, who clearly wanted to chastise him, but chose not to right now.

As Ichigo takes an inventory on himself, he abruptly realizes he was naked. Squeaking, he quickly covers himself, and Renji generously throws his robe back to him, trying to hide his snicker.

**”Why the fuck am I naked?!”**

”Those two dumbasses tried ta dump ya in the pool thinkin’ that would be a good idea.”

Grimmjow explains casually, offering him a highly amused smirk. Brown eyes glare up at him, and his face was rivaling his hair with brightness.

”They didn’t realize yer issue was overdose on energy so they tore off yer clothes to get _’maximum healin’ effect’_ or some shit.”

The blunet shrugs, glancing at the two male hollows, who both shrug and rub their heads with a sheepish laugh.

Pesche and Dondochakka had done this huh? Given how frantic those two were, it didn’t feel that surprising.

”We couldn’t find a way around so we came back to the surface. Jeagerjaquez appeared carrying you - unconscious Shirosaki - trough the ground moments later. He dropped you to us and told us to head for the palace quickly.”

Rukia explains while Ichigo tugs his clothes back on behind a large stone.

The ginger frowns, thinking back on what happened.

After Grimmjow had...killed? The fake Pantera, the pressure wave from it had been too much for Shirosaki, who blacked out. Since he’d no longer been shielding Ichigo from the immense spiritual pressure around them, he’d gotten knocked out soon after too. They’d only survived because Grimmjow had gotten them the hell outta there as quickly as he could.

”Thanks.”

Ichigo tells the blunet once he comes back out, now fully dressed. His clothes were somewhat torn from the frantic handling, but they were still wearable. Grimmjow just shrugs, muttering something about being used to save moronic idiots like him. The comment gained a slight amused smile from the ginger, who knew whom Grimmjow was referring to.

”All this aside...the stone. I know you went back for it.”

Grimmjow turns to look at the frowning Shinigami woman, a mildly annoyed look on his face. However, then he reaches for his pocket, and Ichigo’s eyes widen briefly, only to be _confused_ as Grimmjow pulls out black dust.

”T’was gone. The damn thing was reduced to dust, it had probably been dust ever since that battle.”

Both Renji and Rukia looked shocked now, clearly not having expected this twist.

The wishing stone...was **_gone?_**

It had never been there to begin with.

”It still emitted spiritual energy, hence I coulda sense it, but it was nothin’ but dust once I got there.”

Grimmjow lets the sand fall between his fingers then brushes it aside dismissively, turning his gaze back at Ichigo, who was still looking at it dumbfounded. Eventually however, he manages to lift his gaze to Grimmjow, who shrugs.

”That fucking thing is better off gone anyway.”

”Yes...I...have to agree with that notion.”

Rukia sighs eventually, crossing her arms as she contemplated on this new turn of events.

”So...what now?”

”I suppose we go back home and report to Ukitake and Kyoraku about our discovery.”

Ichigo looks cautiously at the blunet who just shrugs, turning on his heels and heading out of the room, telling them to do whatever they wanted.

”Is the month-waiting time demand still valid with you when it comes to the meeting?”

Rukia’s words stop the blunet, who stands there with his back turned to them, likely contemplating on his answer.

”Grimm...I know you have good reasons to not trust the Shinigami, but...the fact those guys could do _this_ to you, I’d rather  not leave you by yourself here.”

Ichigo begins hesitantly, and the blue eyes glance at him over Grimmjow’s shoulder with an unreadable look in them.

”If we wait a month...they may already come back and do something to you, or Nel and others.”

Grimmjow glances at the green eyed girl, who was currently digging her nose, looking up at them confused. Slowly, he turns to face the Shinigami trio, but his eyes kept trained on Ichigo.

”Pantera needs time ta recover. I ain’t got time to deal wit’ bloody Shinigami talks when she’s in this state.”

Ichigo frowns, then quickly understood the weight behind Grimmjow’s words. While Pantera had seemed mostly fine during this ordeal, she had to be traumatized somewhat, and likely having to aid Grimmjow in negotiations with people whose member once caused such tragedy to them...yeah, he understood the need for space.

”.....Alright, I get it. But _keep our link open_  this time, so if something happens, I’ll know.”

Ichigo taps his head, and actually gains a chuckle from the blunet, who rolls his eyes.

Renji looks at his friend unsure, but Rukia shakes her head, so the redhead says nothing.

”We’ll need a portal home, now that Pantera isn’t with Ichigo to help open it.” Rukia points out and Grimmjow sighs, rubbing his eyes.

”Gimme a few hours. M’still dizzy from the bullsit that fake pulled on me.”

Given how he looked kind of exhausted and pale, none of the Shinigami chose to argue with him. They could wait a few hours.

 

The Shinigami trio had set camp on the usual room, and Renji and Rukia were currently eating whatever they’d taken with them, apparently expecting they’d have to stay long enough to get hungry. Ichigo did not feel particularly hungry right now, so he’d wandered off again, processing everything that had just happened. Pantera was back, the true Pantera, which meant things were looking up. The bad news was, the Quincies - Ichigo was pretty sure it was them behind this - had some really nasty tricks up their sleeve, and the ginger had no clue what they’d try next.

He was so sunken in thought, that he didn’t notice Grimmjow stalking towards him across the dark corridor, not until breath brushed over his ear, causing him to jump.

”The fuck are ya doing around here, wandering like a lost puppy?”

Ichigo spins around so fast he almost loses his balance, but Grimmjow is quicker and pushes him against the wall before he could stumble to the floor. The ginger abruptly realizes that the result of the action was him trapped between the blunet and the wall, a tan hand pressing against the stone wall beside Ichigo’s head, while blue eyes shone in the darkness, a slight smirk dancing on Grimmjow’s lips.

”Mayba ya should grab some food from yer mates Kurosaki. Yer all over the place.”

The ginger just stares at him peeved, feeling his heartbeat raise momentarily. They were so close to one another again, like that time in Grimmjow’s soul when he’d...

”Gotta give Shirosaki props; I woulda probably have died had he not told me ’bout that mask thing with Six.”

Grimmjow suddenly comments, causing Ichigo’s brain to short out momentarily.

Then, he smiles, honestly feeling really proud of his Instinct companion.

”Yes, I didn’t know about it either, it was lucky he’s with me.”

Grimmjow hums at that, then suddenly leans closer, catching the ginger off guard.

It was a very quick kiss, but it lit his body on fire - metaphorically speaking - and Ichigo felt the blush return to his face.

The blunet just snickers at that, clearly amused by his reaction.

”T’was for _both_ of ya by the way. As a thank you.”

He remarks before pulling away, giving Ichigo some room to breathe.

”Go back to yer mates n’ get some food. I’ll get ya guys home in a minute.”

He tells the ginger over his shoulder, before disappearing back into the darkness. Ichigo watches after him then bites his lip, attempting not to smile. Despite the looming, unknown threat of Quincies over their heads, the ginger couldn’t stop but feel things were looking up.

 

 

Seeing that hole appear into thin air with just a swing of the blade was always bizarre, no matter how often Ichigo saw it.

They had gathered their gear and were now standing on the throne room, ready to head home. Grimmjow had opened them a portal, and then slid his blade back down to it’s hilt, all in one fluid motion.

”Get outta here.” He tells them simply, and the two Shinigamis nod, with Rukia reminding him that they’d be back eventually.

”Yeah yeah, just fuck off shorty.”

The man mutters digging his ear, gaining an eye-roll from Rukia, who hops in, soon followed by Renji.

As Ichigo walks up to the portal however, Grimmjow reaches out to grasp his arm, making the ginger look up at him confused.

”That seal thing on Shirosaki. _Get rid of it.”_

 

It wasn’t a recommendation.

It felt almost like a demanding order.

 

”I **mean** it Kurosaki, I don’t wanna see that shit on ’im once you come back.”

 

Grimmjow nails him with a stern glare, and the ginger nods, honestly wanting to fix that issue as much as the blunet apparently did.

After a moment, Grimmjow lets go of him and slips his hands back into his pockets, watching the ginger leave once again. It was always trouble with this fucking family, but Grimmjow couldn’t bring himself to hate it.

Once Kurosaki disappears from sight, the portal closes, leaving nothing but empty air behind.

 

 

 

”It seems the plan failed; he suddenly began convulsing and coughing out blood. I tried to severe the soul-bond spell, but it was too late. Opie is dead.”

He was not too surprised; predicting the unpredictable was only part of his nature.

”It seems, the stone was rendered useless. The last thing he managed to say before perishing was the fact it was ”nothing but dust.”

The man simply nods, again not too surprised; it had been a while, and the vicious nature of Hueco Mundo would only naturally erode any spiritual object placed there. Well, it didn’t matter, the stone had not been a vital part of his plans, just an useful tool that could’ve made this process a bit faster.

”Very well then; prepare the memorial for Quilge Opie tonight. We’ll be celebrating his contributions to our cause.”

His underling bows and turns to head out for preparations. Then, the blond pauses on the door, and turns his gaze back at their leader.

”…..It seems the Ishidas have disappeared.”

The man just grins, his reaction not surprising the blond one bit.

Their leader always knew everything that was happening around him.

Those two fleeing did not mean much to him on the long run.

”They’ll be begging to be allowed to join us again once the purification process begins.”

”Certainly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well well.   
> I was right in starting another fic to boost my writing.   
> I managed to finally continue this one thanks to writing Brother of Mine for a change, to have some story variety to focus on.  
> Honestly, having to focus all your writing energy to one au at a time isn't really very inspiring to me; now when i think about it I almost always have more than one fic going on the same time, and I should probs keep doing it like that so I don't get bored with what I'm writing.
> 
> Anyway, I hope the chapter was worth the wait. I got some plans once Shiro finally gets rid of his seal.  
> Also we will see drunk Grimmjow eventually again. That'll be fun. *wink wink, nudge nudge*


	35. claimed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirosaki has a surprise visitor

”I see...they seem to have a _better_ grasp on the forgotten history than us.”

Ukitake concludes after the trio finish their story. Once arriving back home - they’d pretty much fallen from the sky to Urahara’s yard because Grimmjow could be an asshat like that - they’d asked confused Urahara to call their two leaders there for they had news.

”It is....rather concerning that he’d decided to go and search for it.”

Kyoraku mutters out, then notes the nasty stare Kurosaki was giving him, looking at the ginger with a lift eyebrow.

”He likely only went to look for it to fool the fake and expose them eventually.” Ichigo points out bitingly, frustrated about their suspicion.

Yeah, he **did** somewhat get it, but the same time, the two could be a little more understanding given Grimmjow’s history. Even if they didn’t know the details, they likely had some sort of general idea by now.

”Whatever his motivation had been, if Jeagerjaquez had found the stone intact, had there been no impostor leading him on, there is no guarantee what he’d done with it. I understand your need to defend him Kurosaki, but you have to be honest with yourself as well; _you_ out of all of us know the extend of disdain he has towards us Shinigami.”

The ginger bites his lip; he **hated** it when Ukitake had a point.

”Well, there is no rhythm or reason in dwelling in what ifs.”

Urahara concludes after a moment of silence, closing his fan with a snap and lowering ot to the table.

”The fact is, the stone is gone, the Quincy have more knowledge on this than we do for some reason, and our only potential ally-slash-guide to Hueco Mundo that could give us valuable knowledge on what we're missing has requested, or rather, **demanded** some time before meeting us again. Given what we may be dealing with, it would be in bad taste to not respect his wishes.”

”Aaa, I see where you’re coming from Kisuke, but...” Kyoraku scratches his chin for a moment, as if trying to think of how to put it so Ichigo wouldn’t skewer him.

From the looks the boy was giving him, he was itching to do just that depending on his choice of words.

”What if the Quincy get to him first? If we assume he is willing to negotiate with us thanks to young Kurosaki, it all will be for nothing if they take him out first, or whatever they have planned. The fact they managed to send a piece of a soul from one of their men into Hueco Mundo indicates they have the capability to go there somehow.”

For a moment everyone around the table fell silent.

Ichigo had been concerned about that, he’d expressed it to Grimmjow, but the same time...the man would’ve probably found it insulting to have bunch of Shinigami - even if it was him and he was actually more competent than he was right bow - as his safeguards. He’d not trust them anyway.

”Yes. While he is....powerful based on the descriptions we’ve gotten, and what we witnessed earlier, such as in the museum, we do not know the full capability of the Quincies today. There are a lot of rumors about their leader that concern me.”

Ukitake’s expression was in a deep frown, and it was rare to see him with a soft smile on his face.

”Jeagerjaquez _won’t_ trust a couple of us Shinigami to go and remain as his safeguards. Given how much stronger he is than most of us, he’ll likely find the thought insulting. The only people - or rather, the only **person** \- we could trust wouldn't stab him in the back either is likely not able to handle the Quincy on his own.”

Rukia voices out Ichigo’s thoughts exactly while glancing at the ginger pointedly, and it did seem they had a bit of an issue at hand.

The biggest problem was not knowing what to do, not knowing what their enemy was up to.

”Well, I think it is for the best if you three head home for a night’s rest, it’s been a long day.”

”Well I woulda not say that; Rukia and I were pretty useless during that whole thing.” Renji mutters out with a disdained frown. It seemed that whenever it came to the blue haired Hueco Mundoan king, they always got left behind by Ichigo somehow.

Well not left behind, but rather, they weren’t much of help for their friend, and it honestly rubbed him the wrong way.

”It’s okay Renji; I appreciate that you guys have been willing to believe me and give me a hand this whole time.” Ichigo tells his friend firmly, sensing Renji’s sour mood. The redhead just shrugs, grumbling something under his breath.

”Well, Kisuke is correct; you youths should head for a nice nap now; we'll discuss more on this Quincy problem.”

Kyoraku tells them with a smile, and Rukia nods, getting up and gesturing the two to follow. Ichigo shakes his head however, and turns his gaze to Urahara, who seemed to get immediately what he wanted.

”In time Kyoraku-san, right now I have to have a private chat with Kurosaki.”

The two leaders glance at each other, but say nothing. Rukia and Renji look at Ichigo questioningly, but as the ginger shakes his head, they both sigh and head out, figuring whatever it was, he was not ready to talk about it with them yet.

Rukia was fairly certain it had something to do with Shirosaki.

 

 

 

 

”I want you to remove the seal on Shirosaki; it’s hindrancing his abilities.”

Urahara hums as he walks to sit down behind his desk, pushing some papers aside and gesturing Ichigo to sit down on the other side.

”Are you _absolutely_ certain you wish to do so?”

”Yes! Shirosaki is not an actual hollow, and he’s been really frustrated with how he struggles doing anything to aid me.”

Ichigo near demands from the man as he slumps to sit down on to the small bench. Urahara hums, then turns his gaze aside, as the mysterious black cat jumps onto the table, gazing at Ichigo with its yellow eyes, before letting Urahara rub its head.

”....That _cat,_ I keep seeing it around. Is it yours?”

Ichigo blurts out before he can stop himself, and the man just hums with a slight mysterious smile, before turning his attention fully on Ichigo again.

”I can erase the seal, but I worry about complications. We kept it up for so long, that once all that power is unleashed...perhaps what happened earlier with Jeagerjaquez possessing you, it might happen again.”

” _That wasn’t Grimmjow’s fault!_ And Shirosaki wouldn’t do that!”

”I am **not** saying it was anyone’s fault; all I am saying that there is a risk for that happening. I want you to be aware of it.”

Ichigo sighs and rubs his eyes, then leans closer, resting his elbow onto the table, glaring Urahara right into his eyes that always seemed to hold a million secrets.

”I’m not scared. Even if that does happen, I was able to snap out of it last time, and I can do it now too. But I _trust_ Shirosaki not to freak out.”

For a moment, the man says nothing, just examines the youth in front of him and the absolute resolution in his expression.

”...It makes sense you’d trust him. He is a part of you, and you’ve always had faith in your own strength.”

Kisuke chuckles after a moment of silence, scratching the cat’s chin as it demands attention from him again.

”Very well. But I need some time to prepare the ritual. In the meantime you need to go home and get some rest.”

Ichigo leans back with a sigh after a moment, figuring that was the best he was going to get. At least the damn old fart was willing to do something about it.

”I suppose....getting you and your Mental twin in proper balance is a good thing to achieve before performing the ritual.”

Brown eyes look back up at Urahara, who hums with a slight amused chuckle, hiding his face behind his fan again to hide his expression for a bit.

”I believe after that, you’d be ready to finally get your own Zanpakuto, for it is likely your lack of skill with spiritual abilities is because of this hindrance we put on your companion. Once you and Shirosaki learn to properly cooperate and work as one, getting your zanpakuto should be less risky.”

”Risky? Wait....you guys **always** said I _’wasn’t ready’_ or some shit, saying I don’t have enough skill yet!”

Urahara hums, and actually bothered to look a bit apologetic.

”It...we were concerned that doing the ritual could weaken the seal we put on what we presumed to be a hollow in you. Due to the latest revelations however, it is rather clear we misjudged the situation.”

Urahara pauses, then offers him a genuine, apologetic bow.

”We’ll work on fixing this so you’ll be able to use your capabilities to _full_ extend finally, Kurosaki-san. Come by tomorrow so we can begin the process. Assuming you feel ready for it so soon.”

”...... _Of course_ I’m ready.”

 

 

 

Ichigo was not surprised to get an earful from Karin once she heard where he’d gone off to in the middle of the night again. Yuzu had also remained glued to him for the rest of the evening, bawling her eyes out. It was clear his sisters had been concerned about him, which wasn’t surprising.

He felt bad about it, but at the time Ichigo had felt he had no choice, and he didn’t regret going off once again.

Isshin was surprisingly calm about it, not giving him his over-dramatic speech or chastise him, but he could sense the old man did want to say something, but decided not to bring it up with the girls.

The ginger managed to spend his day with the two girls mostly normal, although he could not stop but sense the anxiety emitting from Shirosaki at times. He honestly wanted to ask what was wrong, but given Karin and Yuzu had basically claimed ownership over his sorry ass for the day, he was unable to converse with his troubled companion.

 

 

Ichigo wasn’t too surprised to find his dad to pop up in his room late in the evening after Yuzu and Karin had finally detached themslves from him and gone to bed, given the looks the old man had kept giving him during the day. It seemed Isshin was finally ready to talk about whatever he needed to with his son, and Ichigo had a strong feeling it’d be some awkward dad-talk type of thing.

”You sure like to run off for that Hollow a lot, son.”

Isshin begins, leaning against his table. Ichigo grimaced internally, sensing where this convo was going.

 

_**Yup.** _

 

It was gonna be that typical pep-talk a parent would give their kid when they first began dating.

 

”You must understand; I’ve got every reason troughout my life to not trust hollows. That twin of yours, we sealed him off thinking he was dangerous.”

”Shirosaki is not, at least hasn’t been to me or anyone else so far.”

Ichigo mutters out bitingly, not wanting to deal with this right now. Isshin was clearly ignoring it, as he sits on Ichigo’s bed with a bounce, forcing the ginger to looks at his stupid, grinning face. His dad was sitting on the same spot Grimmjow had been sitting right now, but the view was hundred times worse. It was weird how seeing this old fart on that spot made him wish it would be the armor and fur-clad, grumpy Hollow King instead.

”He seems like a good lad indeed; I’m glad we were wrong on that regard!”

It honestly shouldn’t have been so surprising; Ichigo had already witnessed Isshin’s reaction to Shirosaki’s presence, but still, his eyes widen by a fraction.

”Then again, he’s part of my son so of course he’s a good lad!”

Isshin lets out a loud laugh, so loud the ginger is forced to throw a pillow at his face, telling him to shut up or he’ll wake up the girls. Wordlessly, the man pulls the pillow off his face, still smiling at Ichigo, but his eyes had gone serious now.

”....Which is why he is not the one I’m concerned about.”

” ** _Dad_** , I don’t need to hear this right now. I’m not really a teenager anymore.”

Ichigo groans and hides his face in his palms, gaining a chuckle from the old man.

”That is not it. I generally trust your judgment. You have your mother’s intuition when it comes to what kind of person one is on the core. What I want you to understand is, that your choice of a boyfriend is mentally and emotionally fragmented man by all means.”

**_”He’s NOT MY...!”_ **

Ichigo felt his face go red all over, up to his ears, and he grabs the pillow again, trying to smother his dad with it. Isshin just laughs and eventually pushes him off with a grin, leaving Ichigo sitting there his face flushed red, grumbling and clutching the pillow to his chest like a child.

”Believe me son, I recognize a young man in love, I've seen it before."

Isshin pauses, releasing a slow sigh and scratching his head thoughtfully, before continuing.

"What I am trying to say; be _careful_ with him. There is no way to tell how he’ll be towards you the next day, or the next week. I’d say this about him **_even_** if he was just a powerless human. People in his state of mind can grow attached to people easily, but...”

Isshin sighs and brushes trough his hair, clearly thinking hard how to put it without warranting another murder attempt from his son.

”....They might not feel the way you think once they get better. That connection, if it bases only on hardships and has no other basis, it’ll break.”

Ichigo remains quiet, examining his father with a slight frown.

Wow, for **once** he actually sounded reasonable and smart. At least partially. I mean, in the eyes of an outsider Isshin probably had a tad too much trust in his young son, but eh, that's how this old fart had always been. He was protective to the extreme over the girls, but let Ichigo do whatever shit he felt he had to do, only dropping by to offer sound - and less sound - advice if necessary.

”I just don’t want my son to suffer a heartbreak at such a young age, world is such a cruel place!”

He declares a moment later and pats Ichigo’s back so harshly that the ginger punches him in the jaw as a defensive reflex, knocking the old man off his bed. Isshin just laughs, brushing his bloody nose and jumps up, grabbing Ichigo into a tight hug and ruffles his ginger locks.

”Ah I’m SO happy my sonny is back!” Isshin declares loudly, getting another faceful of pillow and a reminder Yuzu and Karin were asleep.

With a snicker, the man lets go of him and wishes the boy goodnight, leaving him to his thoughts.

Ichigo watches after him quietly for a while, then slumps back down to the bed, gazing at the ceiling. As much as he hated admitting it, his dad did have a point with his words. Maybe Grimmjow liked him now, but...if they’d somehow manage to fix things somehow, bring his home back in some level and re-estabilish the alliance between the Shinigami and this lone Espada, would the blunet still think of him as a....whatever he saw him as right now. the word boyfriend felt terrible to use here, but you didn't go around kissing your friends, Ichigo was pretty sure about that one.

He _could_ settle with them being just friends afterwards, like how Kaien had been with him. It would probably sting, but...

The ginger sighs and turns to his side, closing his eyes. There was no point in pondering this right now. He _needed_ to get some sleep.

 

 

Shirosaki woke up to a feeling of being watched. It was not the old man like normally, but a _foreign_ presence.

He sits up abruptly, and looks around a bit frantic; it was not like he hadn’t been on the edge since they came back. Learning about what those bastards had done to Pantera, and managed to do with Six, it was honestly terrifying to him. This realm was supposed to be safe, but that ordeal proved even it could be invaded.

Like it apparently was being invaded, _right now._

 

Shirosaki eventually spots what was making his hair stand to an end; Six was crouched on the building edge facing him, in his more monstrous form. The only difference was his eyes were clear - meaning similar to his - and there was no crown like mask on his forehead.

That, and his aura was calmer too.

 

”Uh....the fuck are ya...?”

 

Six’ lips twist into a slight amused smirk, and within seconds he was right in front of Shirosaki, crouched on his fours like an animal, but still slightly taller than Shirosaki when sitting. He was partially crouched over Shirosaki in fact, close enough that the smaller Instinct could feel the heat radiating off his body.

The pale figure leans back for a bit, feeling slightly unnerved.

The aura around them wasn’t threatening or oppressive the same way like last time, but it was still weird to have Six there out of blue again.

The beastly Six just watches him, eyes scanning every tiny movement he made. Almost like a predator measuring it’s prey, watching it, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Except, Shirosaki did not feel threatened _at all_ , a little apprehensive perhaps, but not in danger.

As Six shifts closer lightly, the pale figure backs away again, up until he loses his balance and drops onto his back with an _’oof’_ and he looks up at the large feline-like figure now completely hovering over him.

It was so...weird Six wasn’t talking, when he obviously could.

His eyes indicated he was fully in control and knew what he was doing.

 

”Uh....”

 

A nose pressed into his hair and Shirosaki almost lets out a tiny _’eep’_ as Six leans closer, but his unease is quickly replaced by confusion and a bit of flush on his face as Six nuzzles the snowy locks, then shifts down to his neck, his breath brushing over the skin in hot gusts of air.

Shirosaki lifts his hand to press it against the bigger Instinct’s chest, and he’s instantly hit by an aura of playful interest that wraps around him like a heated blanket.

There was also a hint of protectiveness to it too.

Shirosaki abruptly realizes he was being scented right now, with the way the warm nose kept pressing against his skin, and he could’ve sworn Six was purring. Shirosaki had no clue how he knew what the older Instinct was doing was scenting, he just...knew.

Okay, this **was** kinda nicer than last time.

He flinches a bit in surprise as teeth graze his neck now, but the nip was once again playful, rather than threatening. It also sent shivers down his spine, and Shiro found himself caressing the fur his hand was pressed into.

As he shifts his leg a bit, the bony tail instantly wraps around it carefully, and Shirosaki felt a new wave of heat surround him.

This was....Shirosaki wasn’t _quite_ sure what it was, but he felt like what Six was doing was another one of those things he was supposed to know about.

Whatever it was, it was slowly driving away his earlier unease.

A low, pleased sounding rumble escapes Six’ throat, and suddenly he pulls back, tugging Shirosaki with him until the smaller Instinct was basically sitting on his lap, pale hands frantically grasping the long mane-like hair in surprise.

The tail now sneaked around his waist, and Shirosaki was damn glad he wasn’t made of ice, because Six was **burning** hot like last time.

He was also nuzzling the pale neck with new kind of enthusiasm, tugging on Shirosaki’s robes to expose his shoulder a bit while still being mindful of the long claws on his hands to not accidentally cut Shirosaki.

 

”F-fuck...”

 

the pale figure mumbles out, clawing the thick hair on Six’ back almost reflexively as he feels a warm tongue brush over his neck, making his vision turn hazy. It felt a bit like a cat grooming something with how Six repeated the motion, nipping his skin at times. Except, Shirosaki felt it wasn’t just a simple display of affection.

There was again a hint of protectiveness to the aura surrounding him, and the pale figure found himself relaxing completely into the warm hold.

Six was _not_ a threat to him, every bit of the older Instincts presence was geared towards making him feel calm and comfortable right now, almost like some sort of large feline doting on its mate.

Shirosaki tilts his head to the side almost if in trance, giving the older Instinct a bit more room, and he gains an approving purr as a response, followed by a playful nip at the base of his neck. His eyes slid shut and Shirosaki found himself sinking completely into the pleasant warmth and the gentle attentions aimed at him.

For an instinct, the feeling of calm and security wasn’t that common, but that was _exactly_ how he felt like right now.

That was perhaps the intention behind this sudden visit.

Maybe Six - or Grimmjow - had felt his unease trough the soul bond and that’s why he’d come here.

Eventually, he’s lying on his back on the roof again, lips locked in a smoldering, slow kiss that caused a whimper escape from his throat. Somewhere in between engulfing Shirosaki with heated affection, Six had shifted back to more human form, making the body pressing against Shirosaki feel softer, as it was no longer covered in armor. _This feels good_ , the pale figure couldn't stop but repeat in his head, over and over.

With the slight shift on Six' aura, it was clear he was enjoying this as well, perhaps a bit _more_ than he'd originally intended, as the atmosphere around him was shifting from doting and gentle to a bit less innocent. A tongue pressed against his lips, and Shirosaki found himself parting them, allowing the entry with a slight pleased whimper.

Suddenly, a wind blew past them and Six pulls away abruptly, glancing aside clearly displeased.

There was an amused grin spreading across his face a moment later however, and he glances down at Shirosaki, who was still panting and his face was covered with a flush, the redness standing out from his skin drastically.

 

”He’s _so_ pissed at me right now. Hates lookin' soft n' all.”

 

Six chuckles much to Shirosaki’s confusion, and the man shifts away, allowing the flushed younger Instinct to sit up again lightly miffed about the loss of warmth all around him.

”His own fault fer bein' concerned over someone he ALSO wants to fuck. Like, what ** _the fuck_ ** he expected I'd do?”

Heated tone whispers right into his ear, and Shirosaki almost jumps, looking up at the smirking Six who was just inches away from his face.

”Uh...”

”Can’t _wait_ ta see what ya can do once that damn seal is off.”

Six mutters out, his tone fervent enough to make it feel like he was speaking of something _else_ than removing a seal. He then lowers his head again to nip his neck lightly to further press his point, before getting up and cracking his neck, slowly pacing towards the edge of the roof.

 

Shirosaki watches after him, still engulfed in an invisible blanket of Six’ aura, and he felt calmer than he ever had since he’d first been awakened.

He was fairly certain this had been the goal of his surprise visitor, given what Six had said just now.

That, and something else.

 

..........................................................

 

”What was all this ’bout?”

Shirosaki had to ask, before Six could disappear, rubbing the spot on his neck Six had been paying the most attention to.

His voice was a bit sleepy, and the pale figure felt like his limbs were made of jello or something.

”Figured I’d give a better first impression now that m’ in control of myself.”

Six tells him with an amused shrug, indicating he was aware Shirosaki _knew_ he wasn’t giving the whole story, before backing away and jumping over the edge, disappearing into the streets below.

The pale figure just sits there for a moment, noting the warm feeling didn’t leave him until much, _much_ later. He felt calm and sated for the rest of the night Ichi slept.

 

 

Ichigo woke up feeling strangely at ease despite yesterday’s ordeal.

He soon figured it was because of Shirosaki; a lot of yesterday's anxiety he'd sensed from within his soul was gone. The calmness indicated his mental twin was feeling better today. That was good, for it would make the task ahead easier; undoing the seal on him had to be dangerous somewhat, and it would be easier to handle if Shirosaki remained calm.

With a slow sigh, Ichigo dresses up, walks downstairs to eat the breakfast Yuzu had made, before heading out for Urahara’s house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a calm before the storm chapter again.  
> ....I just really wanted to write Six cuddling poor marshmallow after usually throwing him around like a rag-doll or otherwise freaking him out.  
> Because thats what Six ACTUALLY wanted to do with Shiro the second Grimmjow deemed Ichi "fuckable" as Six puts it.  
> But he couldn't because of those pesky Quincies.


	36. The battle Delayed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unsealing of marshmallow's power goes wrong.....or does it?  
> Did Urahara miss something?  
> Likely yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo...I happened to see couple of my fics on Murderlight's recommendation list on Tumblr, and I was kinda flattered, but then I also felt kinda bad as I hadn't paid any mind to my stories in a while (so busy at school)   
> So....I pretty much squeezed this chapter out today, during last two or three hours. It wasn't completely out of nothing as I did have a general idea already, but I finally made myself to write this.   
> Talking of Murderlight's tumblr, I also saw a pretty good writing tip on there, something about not forcing yourself to write boring filler, so I'm gonna try and follow that advice from now on, maybe it'll make writing a bit easier.

Urahara was already waiting for him on the front porch of his house. He had bags under his eyes, more so than usual, making it seem like he’d stayed up all night.

”Preparations require a lot of time.” Urahara explains amused upon noticing his slightly concerned look.

Even despite all the reasons Ichigo had to be mad at this man, he could not stop worrying over him, Urahara was still a close family friend after all. The black cat was walking on his feet, rubbing its head against his leg. Urahara coos and picks the feline up, who suddenly scratches his face with a wicked meow, making the man yelp and drop the furball.

Ichigo watches the scene unfold, and if he didn’t know better, it almost felt like the cat was scolding him for something with the way yellow eyes glared up at apologetic Urahara.

”Yes yes I know I ruined your favorite sleeping spot, I’m terribly sorry about that.”

The man actually _responds_ to the peeved cat, then flashes confused Ichigo a sheepish smile and gestures him to follow.

They head down to the weirdly spacious basement where the portal to Hueco Mundo usually was. Except, instead of a portal, it had a ridiculously large desert in it, alongside actual blue skies. Ichigo looks around baffled, but then decides not to question it; this was Urahara they were talking about.

”I take that you slept well? You certainly look better than me.”

”Yeah…Shirosaki was anxious at first but…I think he eventually calmed down.”

The ginger mutters out rubbing his neck; something was nagging at the back of his head – not his pale twin this time though – as he couldn’t stop but feel like he should know what had occurred to calm Shirosaki down. The feeling was similar to a Deja Vu, or almost remembering something but not quite reaching it. He shakes his head, knowing he had to focus on the task at hand.

Ichigo follows Urahara to an open area with a large symbol drawn on the ground around a semi-deep hole. The black cat was still meowing seemingly annoyed at Urahara, and Ichigo figured maybe the favorite sleeping spot had been around the spot the hole was now.

Tessai and the two kids were already waiting for them, with Jinta smirking like the mischievous little shit he was.

”Uh…?”

”The symbol is for the ritual to release the binding on your other half. The hole is a safety measure.”

Suddely, Urahara grins and KICKS the ginger down the hole, who lands face-first to the sand.

Pulling his head up with a cough and dusting the itchy grains off his hair, Ichigo whips around and glares up at the smirking group, and he could’ve _sworn_ even the damn **cat** was snickering at him.

**”What the hell old man!?”**

The ginger demands, but Urahara just waves down at him calmly, while hiding his grin behind his fan.

”I told you; safety measure. While you did indicate your trust towards the other half, we need to take precautions. Besides, undoing this seal will create some level of chaotic energy release so it’s for the best we do it in a way that doesn’t potentially down entire Seireitei.”

”You could’ve just fucking **_told_** me beforehand!”

”Ah yes, but that would have been less amusing than the face you are making now.”

Ichigo just glares up at the snickering group, making a mental note to suffocate Urahara with a pillow in his sleep once this was done. Well maybe not really, but he should definitely at least dump him to a nearest hole and see how the old man liked it.

”I recommend you to sit down and calm down first, it’ll make the process easier.”

Ichigo grumbles under his breath but does as he is told, noting that the hole he was in felt strangely absent of spiritual pressure.

As if hearing his thoughts, Urahara’s voice reaches his ear with an explanation.

”Those walls are made of special kind of spirit particles absorbing material; it’ll help dull the blow once your energy gets released. Just don’t touch them or you’ll melt into a bony, fleshy goop.”

Ichigo wasn’t too sure if the man was serious, but he scooted even further away from the wall just in case.

Seemingly satisfied, Urahara puts away his fan and gestures his companions to spread out.

”We’ll begin the seal removal process now; just stay calm and still, and it won’t hurt.”

”….The fact you have to mention that makes me think it probably will.”

Urahara laughs at that, but doesn’t deny Ichigo’s statement. Moments later, he brings his hands up and starts muttering a spell, alongside Tessai who was helping him with this as last time.

 

 

 

Shirosaki was scratching his neck, as it had begun to itch. Sure, he’d began to habitually touch it ever since he’d realized there was some sort of seal on him, but now…it almost felt like the seal itself was causing the sensation. He shifts, pulling himself up to the roof edge, having dangled upside down from it earlier. Looking around, nothing seemed amiss in the empty space, nothing but the strange itch he kept having.

Shirosaki huffs and gets up, walking around for a bit to try and take his mind off from the itchy feeling.

Maybe it related to whatever Ichi was doing right now?

He had meant to go to Urahara and get his power limiters removed – meaning the one Shirosaki had. it would explain the need to scratch his neck right now. However, Shirosaki had a bad feeling about it for some reason. As his hand reaches up to rub the spot again, a chill ran down his spine, and Shirosaki looks up with his eyes widened; the normally calm cloudy sky was turning dark, and he could hear thunderous rumbling from distance.

 _Thunder_ in this realm?

That was unusual, as the weather usually stayed the same.

Then, a lightning struck nearby, making Shirosaki jump in surprise. he looks around in mild panic, almost hoping to see the old man nearby, but he was again missing like the unhelpful old butt he was. Not knowing what else to do, the pale figure starts running, wondering if he could perform a miracle and actually enter one of the dark buildings to take shelter from whatever this was. The itchy feeling had slowly evolved into an unpleasant burning sensation, and as a lightning bolt hits right next to him, Shirosaki stumbles to the ground with a shriek, noting his voice sounded a lot more animalistic than usual. As the pale figure tries to get up, an immense feeling of pain hits him as the burning around his neck becomes unbearable, and black fingernails scratch the pale skin until he starts bleeding.

The glowing symbols had appeared onto it, and unknowingly to Shirosaki, they were _disappearing_ one by one, slowly.

A large column of light shoots up from the spot he was in, and the old man, who’d been watching his struggle with mild interest and uncertainty, could hear a loud shrieking roar echo in the air, shaking the very foundations of the dimension.

His eyes widen in shock, and the black haired figure _knows_ that something was amiss.

It was clear there had been some form of miscalculation on the part of his Master’s mentor; the amount of energy being released was beyond what one could’ve expected based on the information they had on Shirosaki’s origin.

This wasn’t good.

 

 

 

 

The blast rocked the entire building, and Urahara is thrown across the bizarre cellar-desert, barely managing to hold onto his hat.

Once he recollects himself, the man – alongside his trio of assistants – stares the large pillar of reddish orange light emitting from the hole, while an animalistic roar echoes in the air.

”Shit, did he lose it after all?!”

Jinta demands, a little spooked by the sheer amount of energy emanated upwards; had they done this without the hole, that burst of spiritual pressure could’ve downed the entire house and maybe killed them.

It sure as hell was making a huge hole on the ceiling above, creating a bizarre looking hole in the artificial sky, almost like a portal to another dimension. Urahara just stares at the light, furiously recapping everything he knew so far about this in his mind.

Sure, he _knew_ Kurosaki was powerful, even without the proper grasp on his spiritual pressure he’d been a formidable fighter.

This however…. this was ** _far_** beyond what he’d expected.

Had he known the AMOUNT of energy being released by undoing the seal, he would’ve reconsidered it.

He would’ve **not** released it all at once.

”What shall we do?”

Tessai questions his boss with a concerned frown on his serious face, and Urahara shakes his head, trying to recollect his thoughts. The light was dying down slowly, alongside the shriek, meaning the recoil blast from the release was almost over. Slowly, he gets up and creeps towards the hole, the symbols on the sand having completely disappeared as the energy blast blew and messed them up with the wind-force it caused.

As he looks down, Urahara pales visibly, so much so that Tessai and the kids rush to him.

As the black cat looks down on the boy, the furry mouth opens for the first time in a while, a masculine voice filling the air.

”Shit, Kisuke, _what have we done?_ ”

Indeed.

Kurosaki was still on the ground, sitting on his knees, but he’d gone completely _white_ , with the only exception of a mane-like orange hair cascading down his back. he also had a simple ivory mask on his face, reminding them of that other time Kurosaki had lost it.

What made this case _different_ from that time was the fact he wasn’t moving, his eyes were **empty.**

The boy was barely breathing too, his chest rising only every so often. Urahara could not sense any spiritual pressure emitting from him, almost if the blast had somehow emptied him completely of every shred of it, except it wasn’t possible as Kurosaki would then be dead. No, rather…

”I don’t know how, but… it seems he is trapped within his own soul right now.”

Yellow cat eyes look up at Kisuke, demanding him silently to do something.

This was beyond bad; it was **highly** dangerous situation, similar to when the boy had asked Inoue to send him to the spiritual realm so he could speak with Grimmjow directly back when he was trapped in the blade.

”We _need to fix this_ **fast** ; having all that power sealed within his soul is too straining.”

”I know Yoruichi, let me think.”

 

 

Ichigo looks around confused. Everything was white. The normally grayish, kind of somber scenery of the weird city inner world of his was now blanketed with white, and the energy he felt around him was buzzing so strongly it made his skin itch all over.

 

”Shirosaki?”

 

There was no response, no albino barreling into him with a hug and a babble, only eerie silence. Not even the wind he could normally hear there was blowing. he wanders around the empty streets, trying to sense his twin, but couldn’t; it wasn’t like Shirosaki was nowhere to be found. Rather, it felt more like he was everywhere, like his energy had suddenly coated everything in this place, and Ichigo had a bad feeling that wasn’t supposed to happen.

”Shiro…”

Suddenly, a low humming sound resonated in the air.

It almost sounded like a distant roar, reminding him of Grimmjow’s voice in his beastly form.

Ichigo tries to pinpoint it, but just like the energy sizzling and resonating around him, the sound came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

”Shit, did Urahara fuck up somehow?”

Ichigo muses, then suddenly spots some movement in his peripheral vision. He barely manages to dodge as something suddenly lunges at him from the sky, making a large crater on the spot he’d just stood on. Looking up wildly, Ichigo realizes to his horror he was face-to-face with Shirosaki.

Except, it wasn’t, not really.

That horned mask was back, his hair flared up into almost floor-reaching length, and he was some sort of bizarre hybrid between a humanoid and a lizard of sorts, with the dangerously long and thick tail whipping around behind him. The movement wasn’t as graceful as with Grimmjow’s feline one, but if that thing collided with him directly it would probably hurt a hell of a lot more.

_”Shirosaki.”_

Ichigo tries to reach out for him, and for a moment, the beast pauses and tilts his head, almost if listening to him. Then, the surprisingly massive jaw opens and he shrieks, the sound and following pressure-wave so strong that ichigo is flown back several hundreds of meters, up until he collides with something warmer.

No, not collide, someone had jumped and grabbed him before he could crash against a hard wall. Looking up, Ichigo is faced by an old man with black hair, cloaked in black floaty clothing.

He lands on the nearest roof and puts Ichigo down gently, who backs away and looks at him surprised. he didn’t know the man’s name, but…he was pretty sure this guy was supposed to be his Zanpakuto spirit.

 

**_”Correct.”_ **

 

The old man comments calmly, glancing down at the beast on the streets who was rampaging trough them, ripping large chunks off the buildings seemingly looking for his earlier prey.

”Wha- what the hell happened!?”

 

**_”Too much power at once; your mentor miscalculated.”_ **

 

The old man explains with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. he had not meant to present himself to Ichigo yet, but the situation was dire. Shirosaki could’ve killed Ichigo just now, and both of them in the process.

”Shit….I told Urahara Shirosaki could handle it. I didn’t think he’d-”

**_”Don’t blame yourself.”_ **

The old man cuts him off, making the wide brown eyes look up at him. His master looked rather lost right now, and he hated the look, it wasn’t typical for the ginger.

**_”This is beyond anyone’s expectations. No one seemed to have a proper grasp of the extend of his power, not even me.”_ **

Ichigo swallows down nervously, his gaze turning back towards the rampaging monster.

”What do I do?”

**_”You need to make him stop before we all perish.”_ **

”WHAT?”

The black haired man sighs, glancing down at Shirosaki.

 

**_”The longer all this power is locked within your deepest core, it’ll corrode your soul and eventually destroy it, meaning all three of us will die.”_ **

 

The ginger felt a chill travel down his spine, and he looks back down at Shirosaki, realizing just how dire the situation was. Ignoring the old man’s warning to first make a plan, he jumps back down to the street, landing just few yards away from the lizard-like monster, who whips his horned head around to glare at ichigo once he hears the thudding sound.

”Shirosaki, it’s me. Settle down.”

Ichigo calls out to him again, this time making his tone a bit firmer. Once again, the head tilt.

The ginger had a sense that maybe Shirosaki _could_ hear him, but he just couldn’t register the words. Like last time, the beast howls at him, but this time Ichigo had expected it, and quickly jumps out of the way, noting that the pressure wave left another huge scar on the pavement.

”C’mon, you’re stronger than this. I know it’s kinda overwhelming right now…but you can handle it.”

He keeps talking while dodging the beast’s claws and tail, missing the latter by a narrow inch. Ichigo jumps further back, trying to think of a different strategy, as so far talking didn’t seem to work. Sure, he had a blade in his ethereal form, but he felt reluctant to use it against Shirosaki.

However, as he narrowly misses another attack, the ginger had a bad feeling he might not have a choice.

So, as Shirosaki brings his claws up to strike at Ichigo from above, the ginger blocks the black nails with his blade, surprised just how much strength there was behind that single arm swing. he skids backwards for a bit, then manages to push Shirosaki back with a slight loud groan, keeping the blade in front of him now in a fight stance, waiting for the lizard-Shiro to gather his bearings.

His mind drifted back on their first meeting, where Shirosaki had believed Ichigo would have to fight him to ”tame” him and get his power or something.

Back then it had felt like some sort of misunderstanding caused by the seal given how friendly and helpful Shirosaki had been mostly, but….perhaps he’d been _right_ after all.

Perhaps the kinder persona was the result of the seal, and this was the real Shirosaki.

As he blocks another claw-strike, the ginger shakes his head.

 ** _No,_** the Shirosaki he’d met had to be the real one; this had to be caused by something going wrong with the unsealing process.

”Sorry Shirosaki, I really hate doing this, but…”

Ichigo brings his blade up and slashes his opponent across his face out of instinct – you defeated hollows by attacking their masks after all – and Shirosaki stumbles back with a shriek, his mask cracking for a bit. Seeing bits of blood drip from the cracks caused Ichigo’s stomach to turn unpleasantly, but he didn’t know what else to do right now.

Jumping out of the way from an even more furious attack, Ichigo looked up at the old man who was watching their fight with a stoic look on his face.

There was a bit of concern in his eyes, but the old man made no move to help him. it honestly pissed Ichigo off how the old man didn’t help him, even if he sort of understood why; he had not ”unlocked” his zanpakuto spirit yet, so while the man could communicate with him and take him out of harms’ way, he couldn’t physically help him in this battle.

Ichigo quickly turns his attention back to his opponent, narrowly avoiding a lopping-your-head-off strike from the claws, swinging his blade again to force Shirosaki back with a growl escaping the beast’s throat.

 _Shit shit **shit**_ **,** how was he supposed to-

 

_Relax, just keep fighin’ an’ you’ll tire him out eventually._

 

 

Ichigo almost jumps and looks around upon hearing the familiar voice, but he saw no sign of the familiar blue. Everything was still white and black, with bits of bloody red mixed in from Shirosaki’s injury.

”Grimmjow?”

Another tail-swing, Ichigo jumps up and kicks Shirosaki in his chest, managing to send him stumble backwards several feet. He had a hunch his physical strength was higher in this realm, as he was damn sure he wouldn’t have been able to pull that one off in the real world.

 

_Calm the fuck down. This is actually normal – well, for a hollow, but I guess this part of ya is more like us than human._

 

”What do you mean? How’d you..?”

 

_I thought it was weird back then, how he didn’t seem keen on fightin’ ya. I figured it was ’cause yer human with Hollow bits, but now.... it makes more sense._

 

Ichigo huffs frustrated, blocking an attack from the claws only to be smacked with the heavy tail, flying against a wall. The impact forces all the air out of his lungs and for a moment he just gasps for breath, his vision blurry and ears ringing.

 

_The thing is, he was right about what he said back then, Kurosaki; you do gotta beat ’im. He just wasn’t ready for the showdown **himself** due to that damned seal._

 

 

”Could you stop blabbing and speak directly.”

Ichigo grumbles under his breath, figuring he didn’t have time to ask just HOW Grimmjow was somehow talking to him despite not being anywhere nearby. it was probably something about their soul connection or so.

 

 

_I’m **getting to that** ya impatient fuckface; Every time a new hollow is born, they have a battle against their inner Instinct – Six in my case, Shirosaki in yers. The outcome sorta decides on how intelligent you’ll be. majority of hollows ain’t powerful enough ta defeat their own instinct, hence they end up beastly._

 

 

Ichigo dodges another swing from the tail – no fucking way he allowed himself to be hit by that fleshy truck again, he’d probably break a rib or two – jumping further back and running to hide so he could focus on the information Grimmjow was sharing with him.

 

_iI you’d been a hollow like us, THAT Shirosaki is the one you’d met first, not the cute n’ cuddly lil shit you know. But the seal yer peers put on you prevented him from manifesting this stronger form._

 

 

”I see…so _that’s_ why Six has two forms? The beastly one is…”

 

_Amongst other things, it is meant for the first trial of life for Hollows, Deciding if they're Kings or fodder._

 

 

Ichigo glances at the street, noting Shirosaki was heading towards his direction, checking every nook and cranny in search of his opponent.

”So…If I beat him he’ll turn normal?”

 

_Aye. or just tire him out enough he can gather himself. it might work a tad differently from me n’ Six, but basics are likely the same._

 

 

Ichigo sucks in a deep breath, part of him wondering if he’ll be able to do it.

No, he **_had_** to, there was no time to doubt himself.

 

 

_Get outta there Kurosaki n’ make him your bitch._

 

 

Grimmjow’s voice suddenly sounds a lot closer, chuckling right into his ear despite the man not being there, and Ichigo’s cheeks flush a bit, making him grumble under his breath. he swallows it down nevertheless and straightens himself, getting back to the streets to face Shirosaki.

He could do this.

 

 

 

The old man watches the battle unfold, distantly sensing the worry from the outer world; the boy’s close ones were frantically thinking of a way to snap him out of this, not understanding the trial the boy was going trough.

He’d heard it as well, the Hollow King’s explanation.

He heard everything Ichigo did after all, well, if he _chose_ to.

It explained a **lot** of things, though he was still wondering why his master had a hollow part within himself in the first place.

With a sigh, the old man jumps further up, standing on top of the thin antenna on top of the building, waiting for the battle to conclude. There wasn’t much he could do to help at this point, not until Ichigo finally found his name and summoned him properly.

 

 

 

Ichigo was panting heavily, his body trembling from exhaustion.

He was surprised he wasn’t that badly injured, but then again, he’d been avoiding most of Shirosaki’s attacks. His new bulky form was ironically slower than what Ichigo knew Shirosaki could be. Still, he seemed to be more exhausted than his opponent, and that wasn’t a good thing. Shirosaki was wounded as well, but it was nowhere close to the way ichigo’s arms and side were covered in soot and pits of blood from several cuts he’d received so far.

None were deep or serious, but combined really tired him out.

Shirosaki growls and releases another ground shattering howl, forcing Ichigo to dodge onto a side alley to avoid the loud blast. He breathes harshly, trying to gather himself with the brief moment of levity he had right now; it seemed Shirosaki couldn’t tell where he was the second he disappeared out of sight, so staying in the alley gave him time as the hulking beast didn’t realize he’d dived in there despite it being relatively obvious.

**”Shit…”**

he huffs out, knowing he was holding back; he still felt reluctant to harm Shirosaki, despite knowing what he’d have to do. Grimmjow hadn’t exactly said it, but he was pretty sure he was supposed to shatter the mask covering Shirosaki’s face. It’s just… seeing the blood drip down the ivory surface earlier when he’d cracked it…

 

_Stop being a fuckin’ coward Kurosaki, it ain’t like ya._

 

”Are you _legit_ watching me getting my ass handed to me?”

Ichigo grumbles out a bit annoyed, though still wondering how the blunet was doing all this. hell, how could he be sure it WAS Grimmjow he was hearing, and not some sort of bizarre hallucination.

 

_yeah, I mean, it’s kinda fun, but also irritating as fuck. it ain’t like you can kill ’im. He’s a part of ya._

 

”I know I just… _Fuck it,_ why should I bother? I doubt you’d understand given how your instinct is.”

Ichigo huffs and stands up shakily, his vision still slightly blurry, glancing at Shirosaki who was currently checking the alleyway further away, back turned to him. There was an audible silence, before Grimmjow’s voice breaks out again.

 

_I do get it dumbass. Yer instinct’s lucid state’s a cute lil shit that evokes protectiveness even from fuckin’ SIX. Lemme tell ya, he don’t get that kinda vibes usually, hell, he has never done that before, not even with Kaien._

 

Grimmjow sounded almost…reluctant, like he was admitting something he didn’t like admitting.

As Ichigo watches the confused beast rummage around, his mind slowly starts to put the pieces together. He had felt something familiar at night, but hadn’t really registered it properly, not until now.

”It was _Six,_ he came to us to make Shirosaki settle down so we could sleep.”

Grimmjow just lets out an annoyed grumble, but doesn’t deny what Ichigo was saying.

What’s more, given the Instincts were a part of them…Six being apparently protective of Shirosaki in some level said a thing or two about Grimmjow himself, and Ichigo couldn’t stop but smirk a little.

 

_Oi, stop spacing out with that bratty grin on yer face and kick his ass already. And don’t worry about it feeling weird; it’s a sign he’s partially conscious already._

 

”How so?”

An annoyed groan came from right beside his ear again, almost making the ginger flinch, as he prepares to head back out to the battlefield.

 

_The protective urge yer feeling right now is an INSTINCT, at least partially. Who again was yer instinct manifest?_

 

Ohh….yeah, that made sense.

_Ya would not feel that if he was completely blanked out._

Grimmjow pauses for a moment, as if actually considering his words for once.

 

_Just take it like a training match or some shit, you can do it. Never met a more stubborn fucker._

 

Ichigo’s smirk widened a bit at that compliment, especially given for a change it wasn’t said reluctantly at all, but rather he could hear Grimmjow’s grin spreading across his face. So maybe the king didn’t like admitting his softer side, but he didn’t mind complimenting ichigo’s strength.

And why should be be a grumbly bitch about it? He was just stating a damn fact, the kid was **strong.**

With a deep breath, Ichigo launches himself back into the battle, suddenly feeling a tad more confident, probably because he understood more what was going on.

Probably because Grimmjow clearly had faith in him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course he has faith in you Ichi. Grimm doesn't get so cuddly with just anyone, you gotta earn his trust after all.   
> I feel sorry for Ichigo's friends tho. They have no clue what's going on right now. Urahara might be gnawing at his hat trying to figure out where he screwed up.


	37. triumpanth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo defeats his inner Hollow while his peers panic and get surprise visitors

Urahara rubbed his eyes, going trough his preparation notes for what felt like the hundreth time; he _still_ could not figure out what had gone wrong.

Tessai was keeping up a barrier to keep Kurosaki’s spiritual pressure at bay in case it lashed out again, though for now the boy had gone dead silent. So silent and immobile he could’ve been mistaken for _dead_ had it not been for the clear signs of breathing, and the tiny shifts he occasionally did in his hole.

His now masked face was staring up blankly, had been for the past two hours.

Urahara wasn’t sure if this stalemate was good or a bad thing. Kurosaki wasn’t getting worse, but he also wasn’t waking up.

”Perhaps there was something we were not aware of regarding to his hollow side.”

It was more of a statement than a question, and Urahara looks up st the golden eyed woman. Yoruichi likely had a point, for her intuition was rarely wrong, and right now she was standing in front of his desk, arms crossed and with a serious frown on her face.

”If that is the case, I am not certain what our next move should be.”

”I see you already brought out your old notes from back when we first sealed his power.” Yoruichi points out, as if not quite buying the idea that Urahara did not know what to do next.

The man sighs and lifts up one of the files, reading trough it once again.

”These aren’t much help; I cannot really gain any new insight from them.”

”...Perhaps this is **not** specific to Ichigo.”

The man looks up at his friend, noting Yoruchi was holding her chin now in deep thought.

”After all, we were dealing with the release of his hollow. Surely, Shirosaki is not a typical hollow, but...still a hollow. So perhaps what is going on is typical for his kindred, we’ve just never witnessed it.”

She had a point; it was a highly probable explanation to the current situation. Still, it did not give them an idea on how to deal with it.

”I suppose....we could try and ask Jeagerjaquez or the others you met there about this.”

”Kurosaki’s earlier energy burst disrupted the portal device, I don’t think I can get it running anytime soon.”

Urahara informs her with an exhausted hum. Things really weren’t working so well right now. A knock on the door caught their attention, and Yoruichi cautiously paces to the window, glancing outside; they weren’t really waiting for visitors, so she was surprised to see Ukitake on the yard.

”Morning, Yoruichi; mind to let us in?”

The man greets her with his usual smile, but there was weight on his eyes, more than usual. She had a feeling it had something to do with the two unknown figures behind him.

 

 

 

Urahara examines the two strangers stepping in to the room alongside Ukitake, the dark haired one looking around both apprehensive and curious. Based on the white clothing uniforms beneath the cloaks they wore, these two had to be Quincies.

”Kisuke, this is Ryuuken Ishida and his son Uryuu. They arrived this morning with an important message.”

Urahara hums, examining the pair more closely. They were almost identical in appearance, aside from the hair-color, and the fact Uryuu seemed much more nervous than his father. The boy was probably around Kurosaki’s age, and looked rather worn out, like he hadn’t slept for days. Overall, the pair did look like they’d been traveling for a good while now, and based on the jumpiness of the youngling, they’d done so trying to avoid being caught by someone.

”Urahara Kisuke. To my understanding, you are the man who has been handling issues relating to the Hollow Realm.”

To the point huh? Ryuuken Ishida didn’t waste time with words.

”Yes, I might’ve satisfied my curiosity just a little bit.”

The man replies, hiding his face behind his fan a little bit. What did a pair of Quincies want from him?

Yoruichi seemed lightly tense beside him too, though it wasn’t surprising; she was the one who’d been involved in gathering intelligence about the Quincy the most. Glancing at her, Urahara pondered if he should ask whenever she recognized the pair, but decided against it for now. He could inquire into this later on; right now he needed to be a host for their surprise guests.

”I can sense you have something important to discuss, but I would prefer chatting over a cup of tea if you don’t mind.”

Without even waiting for a reply, Urahara gets up and walks to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Ryuuken seemed mildly annoyed by it, but said nothing and just followed him there, Uryuu in tow.

”I can sense a strong presence from somewhere within this house.” Ryuuken informs him with a flat tone as Urahara turns to face them again.

The man hums with a shrug, pouring the quests some tea. Uryuu thanks him politely, looking genuinely delighted to have some tea. Poor boy probably hadn’t been able to relax like this for a while now.

”A _hollow_ presence.”

The white haired man presses on, but Urahara ignores his indirect inquiry, sitting down and sipping his tea, facing the two. Ukitake had opted to leave them be interestingly enough, perhaps he’d heard the pair’s story already, and was now discussing with Yoruichi quietly about something. Urahara could pick up kurosaki’s name being mentioned, but quickly focused back on the two in front of him.

”So now that we are all comfortable and seated, please do tell me why you wished to see me?”

Ryuuken remains quiet for a moment, taking a sip from his tea. It was too sweet for his taste, but the man didn’t have time to focus on such insignificant details.

”Our leader has started making his move, and I’ve come to the conclusion his thirst for power and ’justice’ has warped his mind to the point he is putting everyone in danger.”

Urahara hums, drinking his tea. This was by no means a new revelation.

The data they had on the mysterious Quincy leader painted _quite_ the eccentric and unstable portrait.

”I used to believe his ideals when I was younger, but after Uryuu’s mother passed away, I began to notice alarming signs. It got to the point I feared for my son’s life, for he has highly powerful spiritual senses.”

Glancing at the said boy, Urahara examines him now more curiously. The raven haired youth says nothing, focusing intensely on his tea. He clearly did not like having all the attention directed at him like this.

”I decided it was time for us to leave before our twisted leader would pull him into his games.”

”This is all very fascinating and unfortunate to hear about, but I do not quite understand why _I_ am required to hear all this.”

”Ychwach is planning on destroying the entire world of hollows. He wanted to use Uryuu’s ’pure’ spiritual energy in his plans. What he intended to do...my son could’ve perished.”

Ryuuken’s tone was calm, his expression blank, but there was a hint of protective parental rage in his cold eyes. Uryuu just shifts uncomfortably, clearly a little terrified of the prospect.

”That alone was a good enough of a reason for me to leave, but there is _another._ ”

Ryuuken glances at his son, who reaches for the small bag he’d been carrying, digging out something carefully wrapped in clothing. He hands it over to Urahara, who carefully unwraps the curious package, finding a very old book from within.

His eyes widen as he slowly recognizes the object in his hand.

Well, not exactly; he’d never seen this particular book before, but he had seen one similar to it.

There was _one_ book with the exact same hand-writing as what was in the cover of this one.

”I believe this item is from the lost century period. It was hidden within our library. Uryuu happened to stumble across from it, and found something quite alarming within.”

Opening the book carefully, Urahara confirmed that it indeed was what he thought it was; this was _Kaien Shiba’s_ handwriting.

 **Another** notebook from the lost shinigami.

This was different from the previous one, which had been personal. As the man flips trough the pages carefully, he could tell this one was more about the hollows in general, and their world. More of a diary filled with information, than daily occurrences in Kaien Shiba’s life.

”I was quite shocked of the contents of that book myself when I first red trough it.”

Ryuuken admits, his cold front breaking for a moment, revealing a deep concerned frown in his face.

”I did _not_ initially believe the words, even if they came from a legendary hero of the past.”

The shabby blond looks up at him, his tired eyes now focused and serious.

”.....You want me to confirm whenever these observations are true or not?”

Ryuuken just nods, his face still in a frown.

”I didn’t want to believe it, still don’t, because if those words spell the truth...Ychwach has _completely_ lost his mind. He must've red this book at least once, for why he'd have it otherwise. There is no single useless object or holder of information in his library.”

He pauses and sighs, rubbing his eyes.

”Which is why I want to confirm for certain if those claims are true or not. The only person I’d heard of who knows more about Hueco Mundo and the hollows is _you._ ”

The table falls silent now, as the two runaway Quincies look at him expectantly. Urahara honestly didn’t blame them for being uneasy; the things Kaien described in these notes, they could spell out a complete disaster, a doomsday of an event so to say.

Urahara drinks his tea, letting the silence stretch for a while longer.

”....Yes. What you red there, is most likely the truth.”

The younger Ishida tenses and looks at his father unnerved, who just keeps his stoic gaze trained at Urahara.

”I was afraid so. Ychwach **must** be stopped.”

Ryuuken’s voice was calm, but firm.

Urahara could also almost hear a hint of relief in his voice, almost if the man had been unsure about whenever doing this was the right choice up until now.

”I must say, bringing this book to us will likely help with more issues than you could’ve imagined.”

Urahara hums as he looks trough the pages again. The younger Ishida looks at him confused, but says nothing.

”Well, I felt an expert like you will likely get more out of it than us.”

Urahara lets out a slight chuckle, having to agree with that sentiment. After finishing up their tea and discussing of the harrowing journey the two had made - they’d almost gotten caught twice - the Ishida’s get up, heading back to wherever they were staying. Apparently the older Quincy had decided to not ask any further questions about the lingering hollow aura in his house, probabaly thinking the shabby man was conducting some sort of experiment or so he didn't want to be a part of. Urahara wouldn't blame him for thinking along these lines, he did have a slight reputation of a mad scientist after all, though it wasn't as bad as some other people's he knew.

Before leaving the room however, the younger Quincy hesitates and turns to look at Urahara unsure.

”So...is it also true then? That Hollows had _rulers_ at some point...?”

”Yes. One of my students is friends with a current resurrected king in fact.....well, maybe friendship isn't the correct term, but I doubt that matters to you.”

Urahara deadpans at him, putting away the tea kettle.

Uryuu’s eyes widen, but before he could ask any questions, his father calls for him and the youth hurries after his father, tossing and turning Urahara’s words in his head, trying to figure out if the man was joking or not. Moments later, Yoruichi appears beside him, eyeing the book curiously.

”Ukitake wanted to know how our release ritual was going; he can sense Kurosaki’s aura lingering around the house.”

”What did you tell him?”

”That it’s working slower than expected, I didn’t give him the details. I have a hunch he could tell I wasn’t telling him everything, but he chose not to push.”

Urahara wasn’t surprised to hear that; Ukitake had good sixth sense and likely felt getting involved right now could complicate the apparently delicate situation.

”That book...maybe it has something about what’s happening to Ichigo.”

”I am intending to find out.”

 

 

 

 

Ichigo was _exhausted._

He’d been battling Shirosaki for what felt like hours.

Currently, the ginger was hiding away from sight to catch his breath. His opponent frustratingly didn’t seem that tired, although perhaps his movements were a little sluggish when compared to before. Grimmjow’s presence had disappeared after a while for one reason or another, but Ichigo didn’t care too much; honestly, his sarcastic comments and mockery had gotten a little irritating.

He liked the guy, but the bastard could still be **_such_** a dick.

 

The ginger curses and jumps aside as Shirosaki suddenly spots him, charging directly at the young shinigami, and carving a huge chunk of wall off from the spot he’d just stood a moments before.

”For the love of... _why the hell_ do you have such huge stamina?!”

Ichigo grumbles as he blocks another claw strike with his blade.

Shirosaki doesn’t respond verbally, just snarls at him and whips his tail out to smack Ichigo across the streets, making him collide against a wall with a cough. He was seeing stars briefly, but honestly after the umpteeth time of being closely introduced to heavy surfaces, Ichigo had noted the damage he received was lessening. It was kind of backwards, but this wasn’t the real world anyway.

Coughing out dust as he got up, Ichigo suddenly notes that Shirosaki _wasn’t_ charging at him this time, simply standing there with his horned head tilted, hollow eyes staring blankly at him.

He didn’t seem injured or exhausted, so it felt he was consciously **choosing** not to attack.

”What, getting tired?”

Ichigo couldn’t stop the taunt; over the course of the battle, he’d kind of began to forget he was battling Shirosaki, the glompy marshmallow he’d first met.

The ginger no longer viewed the hulking beast as simply a friend gone mad by outside forces, but an _actual_ opponent.

Suddenly, Shirosaki howls and charges at him, barely giving Ichigo enough time to block the attack. This time however, he could tell the strike was noticeably different; it didn’t have as much force behind it. Something had clearly changed just now, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

 

_Yer finally takin’ it seriously._

 

Ichigo almost jumps upon hearing the familiar rough tone, a bit raspy as if he’d been sleeping.

Did Grimmjow just casually take a fucking _nap_ while he was getting his ass handed to him by a giant horned lizard thing?

 

_Yup. I got so bored I fell asleep._

 

Ichigo could hear the taunting grin on his tone and grumbles, whacking Shirosaki to the side of his head with the flat side of his blade, jumping further back to gain some distance between them.

 

_He’s startin’ to sense yer not just fooling around with a giant meat-cleaver. That’s why he gave you a chance ta get up properly._

 

”Why is that important?”

 

There was an audible long suffering sigh in the air, almost like Ichigo had just asked a dumb question somehow. Maybe it was dumb for a hollow, but he was a **human** dammit! He didn’t know these things.

_This ain’t about beating each other ta a pulp remember? It’s about asserting dominance. Just beating him physically ain’t enough. He gotta recognize your superiority as the King._

 

”...This sounds so _wrong_ honestly, given how Shirosaki is usually like.”

Grimmjow lets out a rough laugh of amusement, then seems to yawn loudly for a bit. How was he so casual about this when Ichigo's life was probably in danger somehow? 

This fucking asshole, why did he like him again?

 

_It’s just part of ta deal. That adorable little shit’s yer reward for beating the beast._

 

**”...That sounds even worse!”**

_Don’t worry, you can’t fuck your own instinct, that’d be weird._

”Oh shut the FUCK up!”

 

Ichigo groans, then swings his blade to redirect a strike aimed at his head.

His blade swings by the mask, and for his surprise, he manages to create a new gash on it. Earlier on, he wasn’t able to put a single scratch on it aside from the first nasty blow in the beginning, but now.... It was clear the tables had turned.

_You gotta finish this thing soon Kurosaki._

Grimmjow’s tone was suddenly serious, so much so that it was scary, given how unusual it was.

_Since yer a human with a fleshbag of a body, this state’s causin’ it some damage, and yer starting to approach the critical point. I did think yer stamina could handle it, but....I overestimated ya a lil bit._

Oh, right, the old man had mentioned something like that, shit.

”How much time I have?”

_Probably an hour or so left._

Grimmjow didn’t sound worried, which Ichigo didn’t know if he should be upset or glad over. Either it meant Grimmjow had faith in him that he could finish this on time, or he didn’t care enough if he dropped dead.

_If you moron cannot finish this on time, I sent someone ta give the idiots a way ta re-seal Shirosaki again to stop the whole thing._

Grimmjow’s tone is casual, but it was clear the words were meant as kind of a reassurance that he was not going to let Ichigo die regardless.

”Wait, you sent someone?”

Ichigo doesn’t hear the reply, as he is forced to engage Shirosaki once again, barely missing from being decapitated by sharp hollow claws.

 

 

 

It had been about two hours since the two Quincies visited, and Urahara was still finding it hard to process all the new information he’d learned from these notes. Some of it was something he’d seen in Kaien’s diary, others were details he’d learnt from Kurosaki, but there were more, _so much more._ It was a bit overwhelming, just how little they actually knew of the demonic beings. What’s more, Urahara couldn’t stop but wonder how Kaien came to learn about all of these things.

He must’ve gotten a lot of his information from his companion, but Urahara seriously doubted the brutish warrior was capable of storing this much intel in his mind.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez was not stupid by any means, but he wasn’t a scientist or historian type, or any type that collected information obsessively like this.

Part of the man wondered just why exactly had Kaien started making notes like this in the first place, why put them on a separate book when some things were mentioned in his diary. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden, strange feeling entering his system. Urahara looks up from the window, and his eyes widen as he sees...a _portal_ , opening to the sky above his backyard.

_A hollow attack now?_

He really didn’t have time for it. Before he can even consider getting out his zanpakuto however, he spots a familiar figure falling trough the gate. He watches as the male hollow awkwardly crashes to the ground head first, his legs comically sticking out towards the sky.

_Pesche?_

Why was one of little Nelliel’s companions here?

Yoruichi jumps down from the roof, having prepared for an attack but being taken aback by the bizarre way the hollow had entered their realm. Urahara gets up and hurries outside, gesturing Yoruichi to stand down.

”This is one of the king’s companions. He’s quite a friendly fellow.”

As the woman gets a good look on the weird looking humanoid pulling himself out of the ground and dusting off his clothes, she concludes he really didn’t seem like much of a threat.

”Ah! Urahara-san! So he did send me to the correct place! For a moment I feared Jeagerjaquez-san was just going to drop me down a sewer hole or something.”

The woman lifts eyebrow at that, slightly amused by his words, but says nothing.

”Pesche, what brings you here in my humble home?”

The hollow coughs and straightens himself, taking on a formal pose as if he was on some sort of important royal mission. He kind of was, honestly.

”Jeagerjaquez-san requested - well more like ordered - me to come and inform you of Kurosaki-san’s current situation, for he had a feeling you do not quite understand what is happening right now.”

The two shinigami glance at each other surprised, then Urahara gestures him to come in.

”I recommend you hurry before curious Shinigami come around and try to chop you up.”

Yoruichi tells the man amused upon seeing his hesitation. Realizing the tanned woman was likely correct, he quickly skips inside Urahara’s house, nearly stumbling on the doorway and landing on his face.

”I’ll make some tea, if you are able to drink that.”

”Yes I am, thank you very much for your hospitality Urahara-san! I’d very much love some tea after that fall. I think I _still_ have some sand stuck on my pants.”

The two watch awkwardly as the hollow rummages in his crotch area, getting rid of a surprisingly big pile of sand.

Finally, Urahara hands him the teacup and sits down, wondering how on earth was Pesche going to drink it with the pincer like things on his face.

 

 

 

”So this is normal?”

”Yes, every hollow goes trough this birth battle, though Kurosaki-san having one is a little surprising given he is mostly a human.”

Urahara hums, holding his chin thoughtfully. So Yoruichi had been right, they simply didn’t know enough yet.

”Now, as for the part I am here for; currently Kurosaki is locked in battle with his Instinct, and normally you’d let it come to its natural conclusion. However, given he has a flesh body, it is causing damage to him, so in case he loses the fight, you need to reverse your seal.”

”Doing so will be hard, given how much power Kurosaki is putting out right now; just getting close to him is difficult.” Yoruichi comments, thinking back on Tessai she’s checked on just few minutes ago.

The man was seemingly unmoved, but she could tell he was struggling with how pale he was, and how his lips were in a tight line. Holding up that barrier was becoming harder and harder every minute.

”Yes, doing it like you’d normally do does require physical contact. Which is why I brought you this.”

The two blink awkwardly as Pesche fishes into his trousers again, pulling out a glowing crystal like object. Urahara recognizes what it is, it looked like the crystalline spiritual essence buried deep within Hueco Mundo that he’d read about.

Except, it wasn’t glowing purplish or reddish, but had a vivid **blue** hue to it.

”This is charged with Jeagerjaquez-san’s spiritual pressure. You can use this to negate the intense aura he is putting up to get close.”

”Ah, the crystal is a smart idea, but why is his spirit energy required specifically?”

The second Urahara had seen the crystal, he’d known where the hollow was getting at, but he couldn’t quite understand the need of Jeagerjaquez’ power. Those things were normally densely packed enough to not require anything added to them.

”Ah, that is harder to explain. But basically, while it is true these crystals are densely packed, the type of energy in them is different. It has no _willpower_ behind it, and the storm of energy Kurosaki-san is putting out is based on willpower. It would be like trying to get rid of excess sand in your pants with a thing full of huge holes. The sand will just fall trough.”

Well, that was definitely an _unique_ metaphor, Urahara supposed.

”What you need is spirit energy with willpower behind it. Jeagerjaquez-san’s willpower is immensely strong, and a good match for our ginger haired shinigami friend.”

So there indeed was differences like this in spirit energy?

Sure urahara had theorized about it just like his predecessors, but the way Pesche spoke of it sounded like it was everyday knowledge to them.

Perhaps it was, for hollows were beings of pure spirit particles; for them these things had to be as natural as breathing was for humans.

”So if we use that glowy rock to counter the storm Ichigo is putting up, we can shut this shit down?”

Yoruichi concludes, gaining an awkward nod from Pesche, who still couldn’t quite decide what to make of her. She was a bit intimidating with her feline like eyes and mannerism, reminding him too much of Jeagerjaquez.

_Thank the endless sands of Hueco Mundo she was at least nicer._

”Good, I think we better start preparing for it then!”

Yoruichi pats Urahara’s back, but the man just examines the crystal for a moment, looking up at Pesche.

”If we do this, half of Kurosaki’s power will be sealed away again.”

”Yes.”

”You said this was some sort of birth ritual all hollows go trough naturally.”

”Also yes.”

Urahara holds his chin, considering his options.

”How much time does Kurosaki-san have left before this becomes irreversable?”

”Oh! Uhm...based on what I can sense...” Pesche closes his eyes with a frown, focusing on the energy flickering all over the house. It was surprisingly powerful, closely matching the crystal in Urahara’s hand.

”.... _Oh dear,_ he probably has only fifteen minutes.”

”Then we better hurry, Kisuke.”

 

 

Ichigo’s vision was blurry.

He’d been fine earlier, but now, he could feel the strain his body was under.

He couldn’t see any severe injuries on him, indicating the aching and throbbing he felt came from the real world. Barely able to dodge an attack, he felt a bit like throwing up, but he refused to back down. Sure, Grimmjow had said he’d made sure he wouldn’t die, but it would hurt his pride tremendously to not win this. He had to win this. If he didn’t he’d be in square one again, unable to unleash his full potential and gain his official zanpakuto. It’d been so long, and now he was almost there. The ginger refused to fail, not this time. The claws charge at him again, he barely manages to block the attack.

His ears are ringing pretty bad now.

With a roaring sound that came off oddly distant, Ichigo pushes the hulking beast back and swings his sword, a bit of desperation seeping into him now.

He didn’t wanna lose. If he did, he’d go back to square one.

He couldn’t lose.

Another strike, another dodge, his body almost feels like it’s moving on its own; his blood thundering in his ears. He was blacking out on the sides, tunnel vision creeping in. The ginger ignored it, all of his focus on the opponent in front of him.

He had to beat him.

He had to win.

Not just for his sake, but for _Shirosaki_ too.

So he could stop being insecure of his ability to help Ichigo.

So they could work together properly, to protect those they care for.

So that Shirosaki’s only way of helping him wasn’t to run away or sacrifice himself.

So that he wouldn’t have to be afraid.

Because they were one, and Ichigo wasn’t afraid. He didn’t want Shirosaki to be afraid either.

**_He had to win._ **

The ginger raises his blade one last time, not noticing how the beast suddenly stops fighting, looking up at him with a smile hidden beneath the mask.

 

 

 

_”Kisuke we have to do this now! The time is almost up!”_

Yoruichi shouts at the man, who was currently crouched beside Kurosaki, holding the blue crystal in his hand.

Surely, the pressure around him was impressive; if it wasn’t for that small glowing object in his hand, Kurosaki’s energy could’ve crushed him. He still wondered just why exactly was this boy so powerful.

**_”Kisuke!”_ **

Yoruichi starts sounding angry now; she saw blood dripping out from beneath the mask, old wounds were opening on the boy’s body too.

They had to undo this, _now._

Urahara knew he had no choice at this point. He’d wanted to give the boy a chance, knowing how important this was for him, but it was not worth dying over it, or getting permanently crippled.

However, as he reaches out to place a hand on Ichigo’s back to begin the resealing process, a sudden burst of energy hits them, sending Urahara stumble back several steps despite his protective crystal. A loud howl escapes Ichigo’s throat, then...

Everything turns quiet, as the immense pressure wave around them just disappears.

Urahara falls on his butt, staring in shock as the previously unmoving, bleeding figure shifts and starts to stand up slowly, reaching for his mask. The air itself seemed to be holding its breath, as the hand grabs the ivory surface and tears it off, revealing…a smirking, proud looking Kurosaki beneath.

_”I did it dammit!”_

He declares triumphantly, still covered in blood and cuts the young shinigami didn't seem to notice or feel at the moment.

Then he notices Urahara beside him in the hole, blinking at the man and the crystal he was holding confused.

”Why are you in here? What did I miss?"

Urahara just sighs and places a hand on his chest.

Surely, this child was interesting, but would likely result in his premature death from all the stress and erratic heartbeat.

”Nothing much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo another chapter. Finally the Ishida's enter the house.   
> Sorry for any errors or typos; I kinda checked trough this very quickly as I still have a billion other things on my to do list that are technically speaking more important, but I wanted to post this already. 
> 
> Also, I figured I should address this here in case I haven't (can't remember lol)   
> Several people have pointed out I keep mistaking the words "trough" and "through"  
> Well...I'm really sorry about that.   
> The awkward truth is that for a looong while I thought they were the same word just written differently depending on the region. English isn't my native so I forgot they were actually two different words. ^^;   
> I remember it now, but it's still kinda hard to remember to add the extra letter to that word as my brain keeps subconsciously correcting it for me, so I might still not notice the error xD   
> So...just a warning that this might still happen sometimes.   
> Writing is hard, especially when it isn't your native language.


	38. Teasing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo is briefed about what the fudge happened while he was battling Shirolizard.  
> He gets teased by his sisters about his crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG  
> I'm sorryyyy for such a long ass wait. I got swept up by school and life and other fandoms and just didn't have the motivation to write this. Now I'm sort of writing multiple stories at once, so if I am stuck or feel unmotivated with one but feel like writing, I can focus on another instead of being frustrated about how I want to write but don't want to write that or this particular story.
> 
> Variety has always honestly helped me with fics, so I'm trying to get rid of the mindset where I only focus on one at a time. It just causes long ass unnecessary hiatuses, where it's not lack of time or more legit reasons such as school, but simply me not wanting to write that particular story at that moment. 
> 
> So yeah. Enjoy the chapter.  
> Nothing too big happens here, which I felt would be a good thing given the huge plot-point from previous ones.  
> Just some family fluff and Ichigo making justice to his name

”....Okay wow. A lot DID happen while I was out.”

Ichigo admits after processing Urahara’s story for a moment. The man had sat the boy down and first made sure he was _truly_ unharmed and intact, before briefing the ginger about everything that had been going on while he’d been fighting against a lizard-version of Shirosaki. He’d included the visit from the two Quincies as well in his story after much debate, figuring that at this point there was no reason to hide this from Kurosaki.

He was too heavily involved in this mess anyway.

”...So, that...that _book_ they gave you had a lot of the shit Grimmjow has told me about?”

”Well...I do not know exactly how much the Sixth King has told you, but somehow I’d presume that yes. Likely that information is what he told you about.”

Kurosaki frowns a bit, making himself appear older than he was. Sometimes Urahara couldn’t stop but think Kurosaki was actually an old grumpy man in disguise. He could play the part excellently if he wanted to.

”So....what part exactly freaked out the Quincies? Can you trust that the thing they gave you is for real.”

Wordlessly, Urahara pulls out the book and hands it over to him gently. Ichigo blinks but then carefully picks up the book, looking at the blonde with a lift eyebrow.

”I believe _you’ll_ be able to verify it with your knowledge on this subject.”

The man states simply; while the things mentioned in the said book did match his data somewhat, there were bits that he just needed more trustworthy confirmation on. While the Hollow King didn’t hold them in favorable light, he came off as a **brutally honest** man, and likely anything he told Kurosaki hadn’t been a lie.

After a moment of looking trough the notes, the ginger swallows down hardly and closes the book, lips in a tight line as he hands it back to Urahara.

”Yeah. That sounds like what Grimm told me. Like that potential world-apocalypse bit, that’s _exactly_ how he described it.”

”I was afraid so.”

Urahara sighs and rubs his eyes, new kind of heaviness settling on his shoulders. For a moment the two just sit in silence, both contemplating on whatever thoughts they had in their heads. Eventually though, Ichigo breaks the silence.

”So...I wan. I defeated Shirosaki.”

”You did.”

”Can I FINALLY get my own bloody _Zanpakuto?”_

Urahara couldn’t stop but laugh; of course, that was probably the boy’s main motivation to win that battle. Well that and staying alive. The man leans back on his chair and puts the book back in his drawer, before looking up at the expectant brown eyes.

”I believe you first need to check in on what ’winning’ this battle exactly has resulted in. Your case is special given this...hollow side involvement.”

Ichigo groans and shoots him a dirty look, gaining a chuckle from Urahara, who flaps his fan open in front of his face to hide the grin.

”I understand your frustration, but be just a bit more patient; it will be soon. Just not today; preparing the ritual alone takes time remember?”

”Yeah yeah I know.”

Ichigo mumbles rubbing his neck, still looking peeved.

”I think you should hurry home now; your family must be worried. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

 

 

 

When Ichigo arrived home, he was in for a **surprise.**

His family was gathered around a table, and they had guests. He had no clue who the two that turned to look up at him were, he’d never seen them before. The ginger didn’t have much time to process it as he was suddenly barreled by two little sisters, one who was bawling her eyes out and other was hitting him with both an angry and secretly relieved glare, calling him a dumbass as usual.

”What the hell Ichi-nii?! Why do you keep worrying us like this?”

”We thought, we t-thought you were going to _die_ or something!”

Yuzu sobs and rubs her face against him. Not knowing what to say, Ichigo just pats her head awkwardly, looking up at their old man to ask about this.

”We were informed there were some complications with the ritual, but Kisuke assured it’d be fine.”

Isshin comments with a casual shrug, continuing to shove food into his face hole. Ichigo just glares at him and then releases a slow sigh. That was _just_ like his dad, to not worry over him too much in the end. Either he had so much faith in him and Urahara, or he was hopelessly oblivious to the direness of the situation. Probably a bit of both.

”So this is the son you spoke of.”

A chill travelled down Ichigo’s spine and he glances at the silver haired visitor, who adjusts his glasses while examining him with a gaze that was uncomfortably **judging.** The mini-version of the man, the younger, black haired one was looking at him with a similar kind of gaze, though there was a hint of curiosity in it too.

”Uh... _Dad?”_

”Yes son?’

”Who the fuck are they?” 

Ichigo asks pointing at the two with a dull look, causing the younger one to trigger apparently, as he stands up and starts lecturing the ginger about manners all of a sudden.

”What do you mean _’who the fuck are they?’_ Shouldn’t **you** be the one introducing yourself first since you showed up after us? Don’t you know it’s rude to point at people?”

Ichigo just digs his ear - a gesture he _probably_ got from Grimmjow if he thought about it longer than two seconds - and gives the glasses guy a bored look.

”It’s clear old man already told you who I am.”

 **”Still!** It is only common decency to introduce yourself to new peo-”

”That’s _enough_ Uryuu, calm down.”

The boy snaps his mouth shut and sits back down, while the silver haired one looks back up at Ichigo, examining him still. It was uncomfortable as heck. Why was this guy staring at him like he personally offended the bastard with just existing?

”So it came from you. The energy I felt back in Urahara Kisuke’s house.”

Ichigo just shrugs, walking to the fridge and grabbing a drink for himself.

”Ichi-nii, don’t be so crude! There’s enough food for you too if you want, no need to grab something separately!”

Yuzu scolds him, but Ichigo just turns to level her with an annoyed glare, a soda in his hand.

”I just had a fight in my brain against a _humongous_ lizard who’s usually more into squishing me to death with **hugs** than _actually_ squishing me to death, all the while my body was being **torn apart** from the inside. Oh, and there was this one jerk sneering in my ear when I got my ass beat when he wasn’t falling asleep on me out of boredom.”

Admittedly, he was probably overly salty about the last part, given it was just kind of in character for Grimmjow to do that.

He’d known the man long enough by now to say he was a _jackass_ if he wanted to be.

Yuzu gasps and covers her mouth in shock, and Ichigo regrets snapping at her. She had just been rightly concerned for him like she always would be. He just didn’t like how the glasses senior was looking at him; he’d just overcome a massive personal obstacle and felt **pride** in it, and then this random prick shows up and stares at him like he’s some lowlife thug.

”Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you; right now I just kinda need some space, I’m beat.”

Ichigo sighs and ruffles her hair, giving the teary eyed girl one-armed hug.

”Why of course! Please do go and rest off your exhaustion sonny! I can take the bullet for you and eat your portion!”

Karin instantly smacks her dad with a spatula she’d picked up from the counter, telling him he would not be getting seconds. The guests look at the show a bit awkward, and had the glasses senior not pissed him off, Ichigo could’ve felt a little bad for the two having to deal with his crazy family.

”Still, you should at least introduce yourself Ichi-nii, it’s only polite like Ishida-san said.”

Yuzu scolds him, and the black haired male tells her it’s okay to call him Uryuu, before shooting Ichigo a glare. The ginger just glares back, but eventually sighs and gives in under Yuzu’s scolding gaze.

”Kurosaki Ichigo. I’m the eldest child of this house - and sometimes the **only adult** in the house - and I just went trough quite an ordeal as you probably heard so forgive me for being a bit grouchy.”

Ichigo states, giving his dad a pointed look at the only adult part of his sentence, gaining a sheepish laugh from the old man.

The older male nods, seemingly accepting his apology, whereas the younger glasses keeps glaring at him miffed. He knocks it off once the silver haired man coughs and nudges him slightly, and reluctantly, the young man introduces himself too.

”Ishida Uryuu, a Quincy - or _former_ Quincy I suppose - we came here to request aid from the Shinigami, and since your father apparently knows mine...”

Ichigo’s eyes shot up at Isshin, who just shrugs, giving him that smile that told the boy his dad once again knew more than he was willing to share at that moment.

”Indeed. I am Ryuuken Ishida, Uryuu’s father, and I am an old acquaintance of your father’s, though it has been years since we last met.”

The man pauses and now aims that judgmental stare at Isshin, who was noticeably _less_ bothered by it than Ichigo was.

”I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

”Why yes, I will be forever young my old pal!”

Isshin laughs, then gets stabbed with a fork, as Karin notices him trying to steal her food.

Ichigo just stares at them for a moment, then sighs, rubbing his temple. He honestly _was_ exhausted; he hadn’t noticed it too much initially while walking home, but now his body began to feel sluggish.

”Okay, cool, now that this is outta the way, I’ll go take a nap.”

Without further ado, Ichigo spins around his heels and heads upstairs for his room, hearing Yuzu shout after him something about leaving him a portion he could eat later on. Ichigo thanks her for it with a shout, then slams the door to his room closed, slumping to his bed almost instantly. He still had the soda in his hand so the boy rolls on his back, opens it and takes a sip.

He regrets it _instantly,_ as he’d apparently picked Yuzu’s favorite brand which was far too sweet for him.

Still, he’d taken it so he might as well drink it **_damn it._**

In truth, he had a lot of questions about their visitors; it was _obvious_ the two were the Quincy Urahara had told him about, but he’d not mentioned that his dad apparently knew them.

 

The Quincy...

 

Ichigo shakes his head with a sigh, right now he was too tired to really ponder on this. He could ask his questions later. Putting his drink to the table, Ichigo closes his eyes and just rests there for a moment, listening to the quiet chatter from downstairs, the sound of leaves and wind outside his window, and all other random noises their house made. Eventually his mind drifts into a half-asleep state, up until a voice echoes in his head.

 

_Good job you didn’t die._

 

 

”Oh fuck off, it’s not like you helped much.”

Ichigo grumbles and shifts his arm to cover his eyes, shielding himself from the afternoon light outside his window.

 

_That’s a bullshit lie and we both know it Kurosaki._

 

 

Ichigo couldn’t stop but smirk a little, hearing the amusement in Grimmjow’s voice. Yeah, while his taunting had been irritating, the things he’d revealed to Ichigo had helped him to make proper sense in the situation. The fact Grimmjow had a back-up plan in case he'd fucked up and lost was even further proof that Ichigo was being salty out of principle.

 

”.....Can I ask you something?”

_Only **one** question? Shit is actually sinking in to your pea-brain? _

 

Ichigo ignores the taunt, rolling his eyes as he voices his question - mentally of course, not out loud. He was talking to a voice in his head, and yeah it sounded crazy, but right now it wasn’t as it was what was _literally_ happening.

”Did you...do this with my ancestor a lot? Talking directly into his mind I mean? It just...it feels like you’re kind of comfortable with this, like you’ve done it before.”

Grimmjow remains quiet for a long moment, and Ichigo wonders if mentioning Kaien had been a bad idea. Finally his gruff voice breaks the silence, and he was noticeably quieter than before.

 

_Yeah. It was useful in situation we coulda not talk out loud or we’d be spotted. The fucker could be loud even in his thoughts. Just like you really, musta be a family trait._

 

Ichigo hums at that with a slight amused smile on his lips as he hears the slight jab towards him at the end, then decides to not ask about anything further regarding to this topic. Instead...

”How is Pantera? Is she doing okay?”

 

 

_.....She’s uneasy ’bout goin’ back to my blade. She’s been stayin’ in physical form for a while and it’s putting strain on her._

 

 

Grimmjow was usually the type to hide his concern from others, but right now, Ichigo could hear it clear as day. Why _wouldn’t_ he be concerned, Pantera was a part of him, an important companion that helped him to stay sane - ~~relatively speaking~~ \- so **of course** he’d worry.

”I don’t blame her, that whole ordeal...”

Ichigo sighs and drops his hand, gazing into the ceiling for a moment. He wished he could do or say something to help, but he knew this was a demon the panther had to defeat herself. Or well, _Grimmjow_ as technically she was a part of **his** soul.

 

_Yeah, that shit still pisses me off. Those fuckin’ bastards, thinking they can do this to her._

 

The amount of venom in Grimmjow’s voice reminded Ichigo of the early days, the first outburst where he’d initially learned the truth regarding to Sousuke Aizen.

”Well, given what has been happening here, you might have a chance at revenge eventually.”

It didn’t surprise him one bit to sense the sudden sliver of _bloodthirst_ seep to him trough their bond, though it was clear Grimmjow was holding himself back, probably more focused on Pantera right now.

 

_Take an actual nap Kurosaki, you’ll need it after that; yer flesh body isn’t really supposed ta deal with this much strain._

 

”Wow it’s almost as if you’re concerned about me.”

 

_I can shove my blade up your ass the next time we meet if that bothers you so much._

 

 

Grimmjow snorts, making Ichigo chuckle a bit and roll his eyes. Then, the ginger pauses as a slight realization hit him.

”.... _Please_ tell me that didn’t have a double-meaning to it.”

 

_You gotta work harder than that to get any royalty-fucking privileges, Kurosaki._

 

 

Ichigo’s face flushes scarlet, and he hides it into the pillow, alongside the uncontrollable _laugh_ that hit him at that comment. It was weird to laugh at that, but after his ordeal and all the chaos, hearing that playful tone and having the knowledge that Grimmjow probably **wouldn’t** say shit like this to anybody else - _especially a shinigami_ \- it did make him feel good.

Not that way!

But still.

It wasn't like he hadn't been flirted at before, but this was the first time he actually _liked_ it. 

 

 

When Ichigo woke up again, it was six in the evening.

He’d slept total of three hours, which was impressive honestly.

Usually his casual naps didn’t take this long.

 

 

With a yawn, Ichigo gets up and walks back downstairs. Karin was in the kitchen, tidying up some things, whereas Yuzu sat on the couch with their younger guest, bombarding him with questions. Old man and the judgmental dad weren’t there.

”Old fart took the older one to drinking. Or more like dragged the guy with him, I _almost_ felt bad for Ishida-san.”

Karin comments, gaining a nod from Ichigo who opens the fridge and grabs the plateful of food Yuzu had left for him. He warms it in the microwave, watching the numbers go down slowly. Then, he senses how Karin kept glancing at him, as if she wanted to ask him something. Finally, Ichigo sighs and turns to glare at her with a lift eyebrow.

”What?”

”Did you _really_ crush on that freakishly powerful hollow?”

Ichigo splutters as his face turns **red,** and Karin’s mischievous snicker only makes his embarrassment worse. The two in the living room glance at them, so Ichigo forces himself to settle down and glares at Karin, who was still snickering at him, though there was a hint of concern in her eyes.

”Look, it’s not up to me who you date, but...”

Karin pauses and glances at Yuzu and Ishida junior, who’d resumed their conversation about doll-clothes apparently.

”Are you _sure_ about this Ichi-nii?”

The ginger didn’t blame her for being concerned, he really **didn’t;** he could see why she was uneasy. While she’d witnessed Grimmjow kind of helping her brother and all, she still probably saw him as one of the monsters that kidnapped them.

”....I’m not sure about _anything_ relating to this to be honest, but I know Grimmjow trusts me in some level, and...whatever is going on, we _need_ his trust to get trough it in all likeness.”

Ichigo explains hesitantly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

”I understand you’re scared of him, and hell, you should be. He’s a powerful being and all, only a complete idiot would not be uneasy.”

”Ichi-nii, that isn’t exactly helping.”

**”Let me finish!”**

Karin snickers a bit at his peeved expression, and Ichigo huffs out a sigh, smiling at her softer now.

”All that being said however, he DID save me multiple times when he didn’t _have_ to. Even after he gained his body back, he still _chose_ to aid me when I needed it. He even helped me trough the whole shitshow from this morning when Urahara removed my seal. Grimmjow’s... terrifying if he wants to be, but he’s **honest,** he doesn’t scheme behind your back. If he wanted to hurt me, he’d just **punch me in the face** instead of plotting anything big.”

”I know there are a _lot_ of people who probably want to punch you, myself included.”

Ichigo couldn’t stop but laugh a bit at that, as Karin wasn’t exactly wrong. He places both hands on her shoulders now, looking at the girl deep into her eyes, trying to sound as determined as he could, which wasn’t that hard honestly with how he was naturally.

”You have _every right_ to worry, but you should also trust me. Even when I don’t know exactly what is going on, I can handle it. I’ve never let you down before have I?”

Karin opens her mouth, then closes it. She honestly couldn’t really think of a moment where Ichigo would’ve genuinely done that. He got his ass in trouble a **lot** and got hurt like a moron, but he always bounced back. Besides, she knew her brother well enough that he wouldn’t fight tooth-and-nail over a person this much if he didn’t see them as worth it. She'd heard from his friends about how he'd defended the man back when he was trapped in Urahara's basement - which still was a weird thing to say by the way.

Ichigo wouldn't get so angry for someone if he didn't have strong trust and/or sympathy towards them.

”...Just remember, if you bring him home someday, don’t go wrecking our house when he fucks you.”

**_”Karin!”_ **

The girl dodges away from his half-assed swat with a giggle, and the girl runs away to her room, leaving her brother standing there fuming.

He should’ve _expected_ this honestly, it was only a matter of time before his family would start teasing him about whatever person he was into. Even if this person would be a _Hollow King_ with an axe to grind with Shinigami, but was willing to hold back and consider the situation because he’d somehow managed to slip under his armor somewhat.

Part of that achievement probably belonged to Kaien, he’d given an edge to the ginger with how they had similarities, but by now that probably didn’t play a factor anymore.

He’d **earned** Grimmjow’s trust, at least somewhat, with his own effort.

Still, hearing his family make such double-minded jokes at his expense over Grimmjow was embarrassing. He could **bet** the man would laugh his ass off hearing about them, given how he TOO seemed to enjoy teasing Ichigo like that, like their earlier conversation showed. He honestly couldn't stop but ponder in horror how bad it would get. Grimmjow seemed like the type that would _gladly_ embarrass him in front of his family if he could.

Yet, he didn't hate the idea as much as he probably should.

Having crushes was a weird thing. 

It was **such** a bizarre situation, but the ginger honestly didn’t mind. He didn’t give a rat’s ass his crush - ugh that word was so _terrible,_ but what else could he call it? - was a potentially homicidal maniac with years long trauma behind him, not to mention a _hollow._

He’d always attracted the bizarre type for some reason anyway, from the seemingly innocent but actually **devious little shit** Rukia, to the quirky and sometimes flamboyant yet actually reliable Urahara, to his old man who shoved chopsticks up his nose to entertain Yuzu and Karin when he was drunk.

 

Grimmjow actually felt like the _sanest_ of the bunch.

 

”What was Karin teasing you about?”

Ichigo almost jumps as Yuzu’s curious voice suddenly reaches his ear, and he looks up at the girl, who’d walked there to prepare some tea for their guest, as well as make a morning-after drink for their dad, knowing he’d _need_ it tomorrow.

”If I tell you, you’ll start teasing me too.”

Ichigo points out, gaining an _obviously_ faked innocent smile from her. She turns her attention back to the tea kettle, and seems to hesitate for a moment.

”I know Karin is worried about it, but...I don’t think he’s _that_ bad.”

She begins, her voice quiet and uneasy, as if she was unsure about saying her thoughts out loud. Yuzu persists however, looking up at Ichigo with a small smile.

”I mean... back when we were there, he even warned me to not go to that area because of my sensitivity. He didn’t _have_ to care about some human child at all, but he chose to warn us anyway.”

Ichigo just nods, offering her a smile back. He’d probably done it only because they were Ichigo’s sisters, but still.

He would be grateful for Grimmjow about that for a long time, as the spiritual pressure in that area could’ve **really** hurt Yuzu.

”Besides, I know Ichi-nii wouldn’t _crush_ on somebody who is bad!”

She then declares with that playful smirk, and the ginger lets out a groan, rubbing his neck as the damned flush returned on his face. Seriously, why were they ganging up on him about this all of a sudden?

”So, I’m sure it will be fine!”

Yuzu grasps the tea and half dances back to the living room, handing the tea to Uryuu who accepts it with a polite thank you, sipping the tea while glancing at Ichigo. It was clear the glasses junior had questions, but the ginger wasn’t really interested in answering any, not until he knew _exactly_ why the Quincies were there.

Urahara had given him a vague idea, but the ginger wanted to hear it from the pair themselves.

Plus, he still wanted to know how dad knew the two.

So.

Right now he had no choice but to wait until morning probably. By the time dad would come back - unless the apparently uptight glasses senior forced him to return sooner - it would be near midnight or past it, and any burning questions would have to wait till the old fart was sober enough.

Ichigo just gives him a frown back, before turning and heading upstairs to eat his food.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh trust me Ichigo.  
> Once Grimm relaxes properly around you - oh believe me he hasn't yet - you WILL die of embarrassment  
> Mu ha ha ha ha >:)


End file.
